


Us Terrans Have to Stick Together

by kitk8



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Gen, Humor, Pre-Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Sakaar (Marvel), Sex, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Smut, Strong Female Characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-03-01 11:27:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 39,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18799432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitk8/pseuds/kitk8
Summary: Ever since Arienne Chase was abducted from Earth at ten years old she had to fight for her survival in space. She joined a crew and became a fierce and determined hunter who never failed a mission. But will she find it as easy to get the job done when she is tasked to capture the infamous Star-Lord?





	1. You’re Too Kind, Star-Lord

Arienne Chase sipped on her bright green drink as she observed her objective across the other end of the night club. The man in question was wearing the trademark red Ravager leather jacket and he was currently chatting with two females, one yellow-skinned tall one and a curvy, purple girl.

She had been sitting at the bar for almost an hour now and had come up with the perfect plan in her head. She had traveled far to get to the man and a lot of money was at stake, so she was not about to screw this up. Arienne had spent the journey there to read up on the Ravager to make sure that she knew who she was dealing with. He seemed to be the typical cocky and reckless sort of guy based on what she had found out, and during the time that she had observed him in the club, her assumptions were confirmed.

One thing that she found interesting about him however, was that he was Terran, just like her. It was not at all common to find Terrans in space as her species hadn’t come very far when it came to space travel.

Arienne decided that it was time to act, because if she didn’t do so soon enough, the man would surely walk away with the two females and not return. However, she was looking for some sort of opportunity to approach him and she wished that the two women could go into the bathroom or something so that he’d be left alone. But Arienne concluded that if nothing changed in another five minutes, she was just going to have to walk up and tap him on his shoulder or something of that manner.

She busied herself by drinking a bit more of her beverage and tapping her fingers to the beat of the fast paced electronic music that was playing. Not exactly her favourite genre, but she’d grown used to it.

Just as she was about to get up and walk over to the three of them, the man said something to the two ladies and then walked over to the bar to order another round of drinks. Arienne figured that this was her golden opportunity and so she left her seat and walked up to the man, tapping his shoulder lightly and putting on a flirty smile.

Peter Quill turned around to face her and he smiled back at her as he took her appearance in. Arienne was very pretty, something that she was rather used to people calling her. She had glossy, black hair, warm brown eyes, and a brown complexion lightly speckled with freckles. Just at this club tonight, several people had approached her and tried to engage in conversation, buy her a drink, or ask her to dance with them. She’d turned all of the offers down however, because whenever she had a mission to accomplish she always avoided any type of distractions.

“Sorry if this is a bit out of the blue, but you don’t happen to be the legendary Star-Lord, do you?” Arienne asked him and giggled.

Peter’s entire face lit up with the mention of his made up name and he smirked as he answered, “It just so happens that I am.” He winked at her.

Perfect, Arienne thought, he didn’t question her knowing this and merely assumed that he’s just that infamous. Manipulation always worked best with ignorant people, so this was most likely going to be a piece of cake.

“Oh, wow, I feel so honoured to finally meet you! I’ve heard so many awesome things about you,” Arienne said, laying it on thick.

Peter grinned, enjoying the attention. “I bet you have. What’s your name, pretty?”

Arienne batted her lashes and smiled at the compliment as she answered, “Arya.”

He nodded and said, “A beautiful name fitting for such a lovely lady.”

“You’re too kind, Star-Lord,” Arienne said and made sure to use his made up name, knowing that it would give him a real ego boost.

“I can be generous if I want to,” he said and then added, “How about I buy you a drink?”

“Can’t say no to that,” she said and they sat down at the bar together.

Arienne sneaked a glance at the two females that Peter had been hanging out with previously and saw that they were now staring in annoyance at the bar, probably wondering what took him so long and why he had just sat down with another girl.

However, to those two’s disappointment, Peter never returned to them and instead remained and chatted with his supposed fangirl. After two more rounds of drinks and a whole lot of flirting, he finally asked Arienne if they should ‘take this party somewhere more privately.’

He was a bit drunk at that point, which was all according to Arienne’s plan. She however, was sober as a judge since she’d taken an alcohol immunity serum before she’d entered the club. That was another rule of hers, to always keep a clear head on missions.

Arienne agreed to his offer with a mischievous smile and Peter put his arm across her shoulders as he guided her out of the club and towards his spaceship. Once they were inside, she sweetly asked him where his bathroom was to which he described the way.

Before she went there, she leaned in and seductively whispered in his ear, “I expect you’ll be waiting for me at the bed.”

Peter smirked at her and purred, “Where else?”

She smiled at him and then left and entered the bathroom. There, she applied some of her special chapstick, one that was thickly coated with sleeping serum. That was all part of the plan, as she needed Peter to be unconscious for what she would do next. Arienne gave her reflection an encouraging smile before she left the bathroom and walked up to Peter’s bunk.

He was already laying down on his back on the mattress with his arms crossed underneath his head. As she approached, he said, “Hope you don’t mind the mess, by the way.”

Arienne was in fact both bothered and disgusted by the state that his ship was in, its interior being filled with food wrappers, dust and other trash, but she didn’t let him know this. Instead she smirked and playfully said, “Not at all. I like it dirty.”

Peter looked at her hungrily and said, “Fuck. Come here.”

“Yes, Star-Lord,” Arienne replied and then straddled Peter on the bed.

He pulled her upper body down to him and their lips crashed into each other. They kissed each other, roughly and passionately, and she bit his bottom lip after a few kisses, making Peter growl and slip his tongue into her mouth. He pulled her closer to him as he put his hands underneath her shirt and she stroked his hair and neck as they continued to make out. But then their little frenzy came to an end.

Because now Peter’s gestures were beginning to slow down and the kisses got sloppy. The effects of the sleeping serum were kicking in and the only thing Peter managed to do before he dozed off was to look at her in confusion.

Arienne sat up and got off Peter’s lap, straightening her shirt and looking down at him. There was no doubt about that he was completely passed out as he laid there with his limbs all relaxed and his mouth open. She smiled at the sight, feeling satisfied with her work. She was once more grateful for the chapstick she’d bought a while back on a black market. It had never failed her so far and had proved itself to be extremely useful.

Peter would be knocked out for at least a few hours, giving her plenty of time to take off with his ship. However, just to make sure, Arienne put a handcuff on each of his wrists. It clicked into place and each cuff had a chain with a little plate at the other end of it which she attached to the wall of the ship next to his head. Now there was no way of him escaping unless he actually tore the entire wall down with him. Another handy piece of contraption that she made sure to always bring with her on missions.

Arienne also had a small controller which was the only thing that could unlock the tight handcuffs, and there was also a button on it that gave the wearer electric shocks. If Peter refused to comply once he awoke, which she thought was very likely, she might have to use it.

Now that she was certain of that Peter would remain in his bunk bed for a while, she walked over to the pilot seat and began pressing the buttons and pulling the levers that would start the ship and get them away from the planet they were on and to the mothership, Freska, where she was supposed to deliver him to.

She was a skilled pilot and had researched how the controls in this particular ship worked before she arrived at the club, so steering it now was no problem. Once they had left the atmosphere of the planet, she put in the coordinates for where they were heading and put the ship in autopilot.

Arienne kicked up her legs and leaned back in the seat, making herself comfortable. The trip was going to take them about seven hours or so, so she might as well enjoy it as best as she could. Perhaps she’d look around the ship later and see what kind of things Peter had in it, but for now she decided to just relax a little.

She didn’t feel guilty about the fact that she had practically kidnapped Peter in his own ship as she was so used to doing missions like these, and worse, but she thought that it was a bit of a shame. He was a Terran after all, and under different circumstances this night could’ve ended very differently.

If there had been no mission, Arienne didn’t find it so hard to believe that they might’ve had a proper one night stand. He was pleasing to look at with his messy light brown hair and intense green eyes, and he was quite a good kisser as well...

She interrupted her train of thought and rid her mind of those kind of thoughts as she reminded herself of that this was her job and that he was just another mission, nevermind if he was of her species and attractive. Instead, she tried to focus on the things she didn’t like about him, which would make it easier to not be empathetic. For one, he was ignorant as hell. And way too cocky and arrogant for his own good. And somebody needed to pop his enormous ego balloon before it got filled with even more air.

Arienne smiled to herself as she made fun of him in her mind and then she settled on gazing out in space through the large windows. Looking out at the vast blackness speckled with stars, planets, and suns always comforted her and made her feel at peace. She had made it a habit to gaze out of her own ship’s window whenever she couldn’t sleep and that never failed to lull her into the land of dreams. However, she didn’t want to risk falling asleep now, even though there was no chances of Peter escaping, so this relaxed gazing at the universe was as close as she got to a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you'll keep reading. This is the first fic that I ever post online, so feel free to leave kudos, comments, and feedback :)


	2. Sometimes It’s Better to Learn the Hard Way

Eventually Arienne grew bored of looking out at the universe and so she got out of the pilot’s seat and decided to explore Peter’s ship and see if he had anything of interest on it. There were random objects scattered all around and she found an unopened bag of chips which she snacked from as she continued to walk around the ship and gaze at Peter’s various possessions.

She found his blasters and a rather interesting helmet which she inspected closely and even tried on. It had thermal vision and she assumed that it would protect the wearer from changes in pressure and purify oxygen. Quite useful, but she decided to not steal it from him as she had a similar one in her own ship.

Arienne skimmed through some comic books that he had laying around as she ate some more of the chips. It had been a while since she’d read those, but it was nice to get the chance to do so again. They reminded her of her childhood back on Terra, even though Peter’s weren’t the exact same ones that she had read back on her home planet. Nevertheless they gave her nostalgia and were enough to put a smile on her lips as she flipped through the pages.

She grew curious of whether Peter possibly had some more Terran items on his ship and so she went to search for those type of things. Eventually she came across an old school Walkman music player with a pair of black and orange headphones plugged into it.

Arienne rose her eyebrows at her discovery, it was certainly not every day that one stumbled upon such an object in space. As far as she knew, it was a primitive Terran invention and that meant that it must have Terran songs on it. She inspected the cassette and read the piece of tape on it that said _AWESOME MIX VOL. 1._ Her face lit up in excitement as she put on the headphones and pressed play. She was curious to see which songs were ‘awesome’ according to the obnoxious Star-Lord.

She instantly recognised the first track that started playing, even though it had been more than… fifteen years since she’d last heard it. It was of course _Hooked on a Feeling_ by… she strained herself to remember who sang it, but only the word Blue came to her mind. It had been one of her favourite songs back on Earth and she smiled to herself as she mouthed the words once the refrain played for the second time in her ears.

Arienne decided to listen through the mix and so she brought the Walkman with her and sat back down in the pilot seat. The next song was also familiar, but she couldn’t quite remember the name of it. Nevertheless she enjoyed it, and the following songs. As she listened and drummed along to the beat, she wondered why Peter had brought a mixtape of Terran 70s songs out of all things with him to space. And that got her thinking of when, how and why he’d left her home planet.

She assumed that he must’ve been abducted, just like she had been, because Terrans didn’t have the technology for space travel. Or at least she assumed that they still hadn’t developed it. She’d left Terra in 1995 after all, so for all she knew they could’ve figured out how to explore the universe by now. However, she found that to be quite unlikely as Peter was the first human she’d ever stumbled upon since she was abducted and that said a lot since it was now 2012.

Logically, it would also make sense that he’d been in space for quite a while since he seemed fully comfortable being here and the state of his spaceship and the amount of random belongings that he owned supported her theory. He’d most likely accepted his fate, just like she’d been forced to do.

Arienne remembered how desperately she’d wanted to return to Terra when she was taken from it at only ten years old. She hadn’t understood what was happening and why it happened to her out of all people. Even though her life on Terra hadn’t exactly been perfect when she left, being surrounded by aliens in space was a lot scarier. She was an orphan and had switched foster families almost yearly due to a series of unfortunate events that weren’t exactly her fault. She’d been bullied in school and never really gotten any close friends as she constantly moved around the country.

However, being abducted by alien slave traders wasn’t exactly an upgrade from her terrible Terran life. Yet things had settled down and turned out to be alright once she’d been bought by a crew that treated her better and better by each year that passed. Their leader, Stralla, was a woman who was strict, but unfailingly just and had often shown kindness towards Arienne. She was still with them today and she was far from being a slave. In fact, she was one of the most valuable hunters in Stralla’s team. Arienne had climbed her way to the top with determination of living a better life and her efforts had been appreciated by Stralla.

That crew was perhaps the closest thing she’d ever had to a family and she sure didn’t have any hard feelings against them anymore. So much time had passed and she’d learn to get used to her current life and situation, and at times she even enjoyed the ride.

Arienne snapped out of her trip down memory lane and shook her head as she realised that she’d been so lost in her own thoughts that she’d not even listened to the last few songs that had been playing. She was just about to rewind and listen to the ones she’d missed, when she heard a voice call out.

“Hey! What the hell is going on?”

She paused the music, put the headphones around her neck and pocketed the Walkman as she rose from her seat and made her way to Peter who’d evidently just woke up. It was just a couple of hours left before they arrived at the mothership, so she supposed that it was about time that the sleeping serum lost its effects.

Arienne walked into the space with the two bunk beds and looked at Peter as he struggled against the handcuffs with all of his strength and a scrunched up face. Once he noticed that she arrived however, he stopped for a moment and turned his attention to her.

Before he had a chance to say anything though, Arienne spoke up, “Don’t even bother struggling. There’s no way you’re getting out of those cuffs, trust me.” She crossed her arms and looked at him confidently.

Her statement only made him try to get out of them even more, which led nowhere however. Eventually he gave up and furrowed his brows as he said, “So I don’t suppose this is just some kinky game you’ve got going on here?”

Arienne scoffed. “It’s not, I’m afraid.”

Peter sighed in frustration and then said, “Why the hell would you want to cuff me then?”

“Aren’t you aware of the price that’s on your head, _Star-Lord_?” She drew out the syllables of his nickname in a mocking way.

“Fuck, I knew you were too good to be true. Should’ve stuck with those two other chicks,” he muttered and once again fought against the handcuffs.

Arienne chuckled shortly. “I’m flattered. Now please, stop resisting.” She rolled her eyes at his futile attempts of escaping.

“You really just expect me to play along like some brain dead animal?” He growled and once again tried to pull his arms away from the cuffs that were attached to the wall behind him in an attempt to rip them out.

“Well, then you’ll learn to the hard way, I suppose,” Arienne casually responded and then fished out the controller from one of the many pockets on her black combat pants.

Peter looked at her in confusion and began to say, “What do you mean the ha—” But he was interrupted by Arienne pressing the button that sent out electric shocks to the wearer of the cuffs.

He cried out in pain and his body quivered for several moments before Arienne decided that it was enough and pressed the button again, ending the shocks.

Peter panted heavily and looked at her with anger in his eyes. However, he didn’t try to escape the cuffs again so perhaps he’d learnt the lesson.

“What. The. Hell,” he breathed out.

“Told you to stop struggling,” Arienne said and put the remote back in her pocket.

“Gee, thanks. You could’ve just warned me of that you’d electrify me and I would’ve stopped.”

“Sometimes it’s better to learn the hard way.”

Peter snorted. “Right. And I thought I was messed up,” he muttered.

“Want a round two?” Arienne asked and squinted at him. The way he ran his mouth was truly unbelievable to her. He was clearly in the underdog position here and still he had the audacity to act like he did.

He just stared at her for a long time with hatred in his eyes before he got out a reluctant, “No.”

Arienne smirked. “Good. Then you better behave for the rest of the trip.” With that she turned around and started walking back to the pilot seat.

But she hadn’t even taken more than two steps before he shouted, “Wait! Can you at least tell me where we’re going?”

Arienne had to close her eyes briefly to compose herself before she turned back around. She could honestly not understand his behaviour. Perhaps she should just shock him again to make him shut up. “No, I cannot,” she eventually said.

Peter pressed his lips together and looked like he wanted to protest but tried very hard not to do so. Then his eyes wandered to the headphones, _his_ headphones, that the woman was wearing around her neck. Before he could stop himself, he asked in an accusing tone, “Why are you wearing my headphones?”

Arienne looked at him with disbelief. That was his biggest concern right now? _Some people really have their priorities set out straight_ , she thought to herself. “Because I listened to your music,” she stated matter-of-factly.

He looked very upset at her response, far more than he had appeared to be at anything else that had occurred ever since he woke up. “You don’t get to do that. Take them off,” he ordered her to.

Arienne raised her brows at him. “You think you’re in the position to tell me what I can and can’t do? To give me orders?”

“You don’t have the right to listen to my music. It’s mine,” he said, still very upset. Apparently this Walkman meant a lot to him for some reason and he was acting like a stubborn child about it. Arienne wasn’t having it.

“That’s rich coming from you, _Ravager_ ,” she said, once more drawing out the last word. Then she retrieved the controller from her pocket again and pressed the button to give him another round of electric shocks.

Peter saw what she was doing and so he was more prepared for it this time. He tried his best to not make any sounds as the electricity went through his body, but it was rather tiring and he didn’t know how much longer he could keep quiet.

Arienne noticed his battle and was determined to only turn the shocks off once he yielded. She had to establish dominance and to show him who was in charge. However, seeing him struggle like that and writhe in pain sparked something deep inside of her, but she was so used to shoving any potential empathetic feelings down that she didn’t stop.

Eventually, he grunted in pain and only then did Arienne press the button again to turn the shocks off. Peter panted as she pocketed the controller.

“No snarky comments this time around?” She asked him once she straightened up.

“Fuck you,” he merely said.

Arienne sighed and shook her head. This man was indeed very stubborn. Yet she supposed that his comment at her was well-deserved. After all, she’d drugged him, tied him up, taken his ship, and given him electric shocks twice. So she concluded that she’d let his comment pass.

She decided to instead leave him be and return to the pilot seat as they’d soon reach the Freska anyway. Peter didn’t call out to her once she turned around and walked away from him this time, so Arienne supposed that perhaps her message had gotten through to him after all.

Before she sat back down, she took off the headphones and pulled out the Walkman out of her pocket. She put them down on the shelf where she’d found them since she didn’t exactly have time to listen to more music now. And besides, even though it didn’t please her to admit it, she felt a little bad for Peter. The Walkman meant a lot to him based on how he had behaved before and even though Arienne had learned to be quite cold over the years she’d spent in space, she wasn’t a _total_ heartless bitch.

She sat down in the seat and turned off autopilot. Even though she couldn’t see the Freska yet, she felt like steering Peter’s ship for a while. It’d force her to focus on what she was doing and would give her mind less time to drift off thinking about other distracting things. Arienne had a feeling that this mission was perhaps not going to be as easy to consciously rid herself off as her previous ones had been. The man intrigued her and had even managed to gain some empathy, even though he was both irritating and stupid.

Suddenly her tablet began vibrating in a pocket on the side of her thigh and she reached to get it, first putting the ship on autopilot again. It was an incoming video call from her boss Stralla, supposedly to check how the mission was going.

Arienne answered it and held up the device so that Stralla would be able to see her face. And likewise, Arienne was met with the familiar view of her leader’s purple skin, void black hair and matching eyes.

“Arienne, do you have an update?” She asked her in her strong voice.

“Hello, Captain. Everything’s gone successful so far. I captured Peter Quill and stole his ship, just according to plan. I’m now heading back to the Freska.”

“Excellent work, Arienne. I’m expecting to see you soon then,” Stralla said and smiled, pleased.

“Absolutely,” Arienne confidently said and smiled back.

“Just send us a message when you approach so that we know that it’s you.”

“Of course. Wouldn’t want to be blasted to smithereens for nothing,” Arienne joked.

Stralla grinned. “No, that would certainly be a shame.”

They were quiet for a moment before her boss spoke up again, “See you aboard then.”

Arienne nodded and before she had time to respond, Stralla ended the call. She put away her tablet and then let out a sigh. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t exactly know what Stralla wanted Peter for or what he had done to deserve being kidnapped. Arienne didn’t doubt that he’d done _something_ bad and that he probably had this coming, but it bothered her that she didn’t know exactly what.

Stralla usually shared such information with her as that would motivate Arienne to complete the missions, but this time she’d received no details regarding her boss’ intentions with Peter.

Thinking more about it, Arienne couldn’t come up with any good explanations for why Stralla hadn’t told her. If Peter had done something extremely terrible, telling her would only make her more motivated to get him. And if he had done something not so extreme, Stralla knew that Arienne didn’t really mind either way. And it was very unlike her boss to simply forget to tell her information about a mission. In fact, that had never happened so far…

Arienne could feel herself spiralling and overanalysing this. It was probably nothing and besides, she’d have her answers soon enough. She was definitely confident enough to ask Stralla about it and so that’s what she would do once she got back to the Freska.

She sighed and turned off autopilot and took control of the ship. She reminded herself of that this mission would soon be over and that she’d forget about it not much longer after that. Tonight she’d celebrate with her hunter buddies and then perhaps take a day off tomorrow. Arienne smiled to herself and nodded as she steered Peter’s ship through the endless darkness of the universe.


	3. Vaguely

Arienne was approaching the Freska and sent out a message stating just that to her team. She waited until they opened up the back of the mothership, allowing her to park Peter’s inside.

Once that was done she got out of the seat and walked over to Peter’s bunk.

“Time to go,” she announced as she came closer to him.

He had apparently been sleeping, because now he opened up his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to understand what was going on. _Unbelievable_ , Arienne thought for the millionth time regarding this man. Peter had spent who knows how long peacefully dozing off, especially considering that he’d previously been asleep for hours while under the sleeping serum. She shook her head, but couldn’t help but smile a little as it amused her.

Eventually realisation hit him and he seemed to remember what had happened to him. However, that didn’t stop him from trying to get up before acknowledging that he was still chained to the wall and wasn’t getting anywhere by himself. He sighed and slumped back down.

“Still won’t tell me where?” He asked and then yawned.

“Nope. You’ll find out soon enough anyway,” Arienne said.

“Can’t wait,” he said sarcastically.

She picked up the controller to his handcuffs and made sure that he saw what object she held in her hand. He looked at her with a tired and somewhat defeated expression which assured Arienne of that he was aware.

“Now, I’m going to unchain you from the wall and we’re going to get out of this ship. If you just play along nicely, there won’t be any need for me to use this. Okay?”

“Wouldn’t even dream of misbehaving,” he said and smiled at her in an over-sincere way.

Arienne rolled her eyes at him and walked over to where he was sitting on the bed. She pressed another button on the controller and the plates that were attached to the wall released.

She then quickly reached out to snatch the chains, but within that small timeframe Peter hit Arienne in her stomach with one of his now unchained fists. She backed away a few steps in surprise, but Peter didn’t slow down. He jumped off the bunk bed and lunged for another hit.

However, he’d not exactly thought his attack out very well, because Arienne was still holding the controller and before Peter had reached her, she pressed the button which sent electric shocks through his entire body.

Peter instantly fell down on his knees and his body trembled as the shocks went through him. Arienne sighed in annoyance and went around him. She turned off the shocks and grabbed his arms and put them behind his back before he had time to recover and try to do something else.

She chained the two handcuffs together so that his hands were firmly locked behind his back and she then grabbed onto the collar of his red leather jacket.

Arienne pushed him up off his feet and said, “How many electric shocks will it take before you get it through your thick skull that you can’t escape me?”

“Until I die, probably,” he said casually.

She pushed him a little and they began walking, exiting his ship. “Keep that behaviour up and it’s _probably_ what’s going to happen,” she warned.

“Nah, you wouldn’t go through all of this effort just to kill me so I’m honestly not too worried.”

They walked out on the hangar and members of Stralla’s crew stared at the two Terrans as they walked by. Some looked with genuine curiosity while others gave death stares.

“Maybe _I_ won’t, but that doesn’t mean nobody else will,” Arienne said.

“Good point.”

Arienne rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see her face from where she was walking behind him. She guided them through the various hallways of the large ship until they eventually arrived at a room where she was to wait for Stralla. There were two guards stationed inside and Arienne walked up to them and handed over Peter. They grabbed one of his arms each with firm grasps.

Arienne picked up her tablet and sent a message to Stralla that she was waiting for her with Peter in room A17. Her Captain almost immediately responded that she’d be right there.

“Hey, could you loosen up these cuffs a bit? They’re painfully tight,” Peter asked.

Arienne didn’t even look up from her tablet as she scrolled through some notifications that she’d missed out on. “You should’ve thought about that before you tried to attack me.”

“Please?”

She gazed up from the tablet and looked at his face. He was smiling exaggeratedly and she couldn’t understand how he still bothered to keep up this silly attitude of his.

However, she was saved from having to answer him as Stralla strode into the room with a pleased look on her face.

She marched up to Peter and thoroughly inspected him before she spoke. “Now what do we have here. A little lost Ravager, hmm?”

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call myself little, but you know, whatever,” he said.

Stralla looked at him, unimpressed, and continued, “Do you know why you’re here?”

Peter looked like he considered this for a moment and then said, “Honestly, I’ve got no idea. Don’t even know where I am.”

“You’re on my ship, the Freska.”

He looked as if he’d just understood what the meaning of life was. “Oh! Why didn’t you just say so? _The Freska_ , that’s my favourite place of all places in the universe.”

A silence followed in which Arienne couldn’t help but smile a little. Then Peter’s face turned to stone as he said, “No seriously, that tells me nothing.”

Stralla had evidently already grown tired of his little games, so she said, “I’m Captain Stralla and you’ve stolen from my crew, repeatedly. It’s about time you face some consequences.”

“Sorry about that, but you’re gonna have to be a bit more specific.”

Stralla picked up a tablet and began showing him images of various objects, everything ranging from artefacts to technological devices to even an entire spaceship. In many of them, Peter was also in the photos, clearly demonstrating that he was in fact the thief.

“Look familiar?” Stralla asked once she’d gotten to the last picture.

“Vaguely,” Peter responded.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” She demanded.

“Well, even if it might’ve been me who technically retrieved the items, you’ve sort of got the wrong guy here. Just saying.”

“What do you mean?” Stralla said and narrowed her eyes.

“I’m just a puppet. It’s my leader, Yondu, who pulls the strings,” he said.

Arienne had to refrain from snorting out loud at what she strongly considered to be the worst excuse she’d ever heard. Not only did his argument not make any sense as it was obviously he who had stolen the items, but that he’d just betray his leader to possibly save himself was both embarrassing and cowardly.

“Ah yes, Yondu. You know, it’s funny, because he’s actually the man I’m looking for. And I’ve heard that he’s quite fond of you, Peter Quill,” Stralla said and smiled insincerely.

“I’m not sure if fond is the word I’d use…” Peter commented.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find out just how much you’re worth to him quite soon.”

So that was what Stralla’s plan was. To use Peter as bait so that she could either get the stolen objects back or receive compensation for them from his Ravager leader. That seemed a bit odd to Arienne as the Ravagers weren’t exactly known for their sentiment. And based on the many images of the stolen items, the sum that the Ravagers owed Stralla was probably rather large. How was she so sure of that this Yondu would think Peter was worth all of that trouble? He was probably just one out of many replaceable crew members. But Arienne supposed that Stralla knew what she was doing and besides, it wasn’t really much of her issue anymore. She’d done her part and that was that.

“Looking forward to hearing that conversation,” Peter said and chuckled.

Stralla looked at him, unamused, and then instructed the guards, “Lock him up for now.”

They nodded and then turned to leave the room, pushing Peter along with them. “Lock me up? I thought you wanted to speak to Yondu and—” he protested as he was being led out of the room.

They didn’t hear the end of his sentence since the guards left the room and the doors closed behind them. Now it was only Stralla and Arienne left in the room.

Stralla turned to Arienne and smiled, “That man is quite a handful, huh? I’ve barely talked to him for five minutes and I already have a headache.”

Arienne chuckled a little. “Yeah, well try being stuck on the same ship with him for hours.”

Stralla groaned as she imagined the scenario. “I’ll make sure you get paid well for this, Arienne.”

“Appreciate it, Captain. Luckily he was asleep for most of the journey.”

Stralla laughed a little. “Well, good job on delivering him to me. You’ve completed your mission perfectly, as always.”

“Thanks,” Arienne said and smiled appreciatively.

“Alright then, I’m needed elsewhere, but I’ll see you soon,” Stralla said and started to exit the room.

“Wait,” Arienne called out before she could stop herself. She wanted to ask Stralla about the thing that had been bothering her before, and still was, about why she had received so little details about this mission.

Stralla stopped and turned around. “Yes?”

“Well, it’s just that I noticed that you barely told my anything about this mission other than to bring Peter here in one piece. How come?” Arienne felt rather awkward after she’d asked her this. It had seemed like a legit concern in her head, but now that she spoke the words out loud it just sounded petty.

“Oh,” Stralla said and thought about it for a moment. “Well, I wasn’t sure that you’d agree to do it if you knew too much about it.”

“What? I’ve never refused to do a mission before,” Arienne said, now getting confused.

“That’s true. But you’ve also never had to capture a Terran before.”

This didn’t make any sense to Arienne, which she made sure to express. “You think I would refuse to do a mission because the target happens to be one of my own species?”

Stralla put her hands up to show that she thought Arienne was overstepping a little now. Questioning her Captain like that was in fact rude and disrespectful, even though her and Stralla were on friendly terms.

“I wanted to keep the information to a minimum. That’s why I didn’t tell you that’s he’s Terran or what he had done. Now, if this doesn’t make sense to you, that’s fine. But you must understand that I need to prioritise the success of my missions over the feelings of my hunters.”

Arienne hadn’t even thought about that, but now that Stralla mentioned it, it clicked. The only reason why Arienne knew what species Peter was was because she’d done research on him before she arrived at the club. She felt both annoyed and angered with the lack of trust that Stralla apparently had for her.

“If I was such a liability, why did you even give this mission to me?” She demanded, not letting this topic go before she got all of the answers she wanted.

Stralla sighed. “I’ve tried to send other hunters for him before, but all of their attempts were unsuccessful.”

Arienne found that quite hard to believe. Sure, she was a skilled hunter, but it wasn’t as if she was the only decent one in Stralla’s entire crew. For some reason, she felt the need to tell Stralla this.

“It really wasn’t that difficult capturing him,” she stated.

“Of course not for you. You’re my best hunter,” Stralla said, praising her. Before Arienne had a chance to retort, she added, “Now I really must go. And I promise, not giving sufficient information was a one time type of thing. Why don’t you go and enjoy yourself and take a couple of days off? You deserve it.”

Arienne nodded and said, “Thanks,” not wanting to push her boss’ boundaries further, especially after she’d received that kind of praise and reward.

Stralla nodded back at her and then left the room to go to wherever she had to be. Arienne was left standing in A17 all alone, not knowing what to think about the information she’d just found out.

However, what Arienne did know was that she was desperately craving some food and sleep. So, she made her way back to her room on the ship and grabbed a bite to eat, took a shower and then decided to nap for a couple of hours. She didn’t want to miss the interaction with Peter’s leader as she was far too invested in this mission to let it go now. For one, she wanted to see how Stralla’s plan would turn out and she also wanted to prove to her leader that she could be trusted no matter what. But she needed some sleep so she decided to set an alarm to wake her up in two hours.


	4. The One Thing We Have in Common

Arienne groaned as her alarm went off, waking her up with its monotone beeping sound. She grudgingly got out of her bed and put on some clothes, choosing a dark blue long sleeved shirt and the same black cargo pants that she almost always wore. She put her black hair up in a high ponytail and then drank some water mixed with an energising powder.

She thought about what she was going to do now and what instantly came to her mind was Peter. First of all, she wanted to check that she hadn’t missed the call with his leader Yondu. And secondly, he was still wearing her handcuffs. Now that he was locked up in a cell, there really wasn’t any need for him to keep them on and she might as well retrieve them. After all, only her controller could unchackle him and it was just cruel of her to let him continue to wear them without any purpose.

So Arienne made her way down to the lowest level of the ship, where the prison cells were located amongst other things. There were a couple of android guards who patrolled the corridor, but other than that it was only her and the prisoners down here. The Freska had about thirty cells or so and Arienne couldn’t recall a single time where all of them had ever been occupied. Stralla wasn’t a huge fan of keeping strangers on her ship, prisoners or no, for longer periods of time which was why barely ten cells were occupied at a time.

Today, Arienne counted four prisoners before she found Peter sitting down in cell number 22. Each cell was a cube large enough for an average person to be able to take five steps from wall to wall. All that was inside of it was a bench and a toilet. The walls were made of thick glass and there was a slot next to the door which allowed for communication and food to be brought in without having to unlock the cell door.

Peter observed her as she approached him and opened the slot so that they could speak to each other.

“How nice seeing my capturer again,” he greeted her with.

“Don’t blame me, I’m just the… What did you call it? The puppet. If it’s anyone you should blame, it’s Captain Stralla,” Arienne said and smirked, teasing him with his own excuse.

“Ha-ha, very funny. Make fun of me all you want, but my words actually worked.”

Arienne rose her brows. “Worked? You’re aware of that you’re in a cell, right?”

“At least I’m still alive,” he said.

“What a victory.”

“Gotta appreciate the small things in life,” he said and grinned.

“Well, then I guess it’s your lucky day because I’m here to bless you with another small victory,” Arienne said which made Peter look at her curiously.

She pressed the button on her controller which unlocked the cuffs around his wrists, making them slide down on the bench that he was sitting on.

Peter sighed in relief and put his arms out in front of him, rolled his wrists and stretched out his fingers.

“Kind of you to come all the way here to unchain me. My arms appreciate it,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” Arienne said. Then she added, “Mind giving them back to me?”

He rose from the bench and grabbed the two cuffs and walked over to the slot and handed them over to her. He was being so compliant now all of a sudden and Arienne grew suspicious of his sudden change of heart.

Peter remained standing near the slot and was inspecting her face rather scrupulously without saying a word. Arienne pocketed the cuffs and when she looked up and he was still staring at her, she frowned and asked, “Do I have something in my face or what is it?”

He was silent for a few more moments before he said, “You’re Terran, aren’t you?”

His question caught Arienne a little off guard. She thought he’d already realised that a long time ago, but she supposed that he’d had a few other things to think about during their time together.

“Yeah, the one thing we have in common,” she said.

“Where are you from?” He asked.

“England.” She wondered if it was wise of her to answer his questions, but then again how could he ever use her home country against her? Nobody she’d met in space had ever known a single place on Terra, so his question seemed innocent enough to her.

“I’m American,” he said even though she hadn’t asked him. He then shook his head and added, “What are the odds of us two meeting each other in space?”

“Pretty slim, I’m guessing,” Arienne said, now feeling rather skeptical with where Peter was going with this.

“Exactly. Ever met another Terran in space before?” He asked.

“No,” She said slowly, drawing out the ‘o’ and frowned a little.

“Right. And you feel comfortable with the fact that you just handed me over to your leader?”

Was he actually trying to guilt trip her for doing her job? Arienne scoffed and said, “As if you wouldn’t have done exactly the same if the tables were turned.”

“I’d never,” he said and smiled innocently. “Us Terrans have to stick together, you know?”

Arienne looked at him and then smiled back as she decided to mess with him a little. “Of course, how couldn’t I have realised this sooner? But your words have made me acknowledge what a huge mistake it was to capture you. How about I break you out of here and we escape together?”

Peter first stared at her in disbelief, but it quickly dawned on him how ridiculous and overdone her words sounded. Being somewhat of an expert on sarcasm himself, he was able to tell that she was just fooling him. He sighed and said, “Oh, come on.”

Arienne smirked. “Nice try, Quill, but your conviction skills could definitely use some work.”

“Yeah, and your empathy skills could use some work,” he retorted with.

“I bet,” she said and added, “Well, I got what I came here for, so I’ll be going now. Enjoy your stay.” She tilted her head and smiled insincerely at him before she closed the slot.

Peter said something else, but Arienne didn’t hear it through the soundproof glass and she could only see him mouthing words at her. She assumed that it wasn’t anything particularly nice though, and so she only waved a little at him before she walked away from the cells and made her way up the stairs of the ship.


	5. I Think I’ll Be the One Decidin’ That

Arienne spent some more time resting on her room once she’d left the cells. She didn’t feel like sleeping, probably because of the energising powder she’d consumed before, but also because she kept thinking of the past day’s events.

This mission and Peter disrupted what she was used to. For one, there was the whole thing with Stralla keeping things from her and then also the fact that Arienne had never spoken or interacted so much with a captive like she’d done with Peter. Perhaps Stralla had had good intentions after all, even though her methods didn’t exactly make any sense.

Suddenly Arienne’s tablet buzzed, signaling that she’d received a new message. She looked over and saw that it was from no one less than Stralla herself. _Speaking, or well, thinking, of the devil_ , Arienne thought to herself as she read the text.

_Sorry for keeping info about Quill from you. I do trust you, Arienne. I’ve just ordered guards to fetch him from his cell so that we can get in contact with his leader Yondu. Meet me in A17._

Arienne was pleasantly surprised by her boss’ words as she hadn’t expected Stralla to bring this up again considering how their conversation about it went. Nevertheless she appreciated Stralla’s olive branch as it truly showed that she _did_ trust Arienne because she wanted her to be involved in matters regarding Peter, even though they were both Terran.

She replied to Stralla that she was on her way and then got off her bed to in fact go to the said room. Once she arrived there, Stralla, Peter and two guards were already there, engaging in conversation.

As Arienne walked into the room, she heard Stralla ask Peter, “On your ship?”

“Yeah, haven’t gotten around to getting one of those fancy little tablets that you all seem to have, so all I have is the monitor on my ship. The Ravager life is tougher than you’d think,” Peter said.

He looked at Arienne as she walked up and stood next to Stralla, but didn’t say anything to her. Stralla however, nodded once and smiled at her to acknowledge her presence.

“Fine, let’s go there then,” Stralla then replied and motioned for the guards to begin walking.

The group of five walked through the corridors at a quick pace, making their way to Peter’s ship which was still in the hangar where Arienne had parked it earlier.

They entered it and Stralla immediately demanded, “Show us where it is and I’ll call Yondu.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Peter said and Arienne had a strong feeling that if the guards wouldn’t have held his arms in place, he would’ve actually saluted as he said it.

He led the way into an open space with a table and explained to Stralla that she’d have to turn on a the holographic screen that hovered next to the table and then call Yondu from the large tablet that was on the table. In that way, Yondu’s face would show up on the holographic screen and he’d be able to see them all better.

Stralla nodded and then followed his instructions. As the call was starting to connect, she made sure that Peter stood in front of the centre of the screen with one guard on each of his side. She positioned herself closer to the screen to Peter’s left and motioned for Arienne to go over to the right. She did that and stood more in the background, as she didn’t expect to be talking during the call.

After a few moments the call went through and Yondu’s blue face instantly filled the entire holographic screen. Before anyone else had a chance to do or say anything, his thickly accented voice said, “What you botherin’ me for, boy?”

Stralla seemed to be a bit taken back by his greeting and so she didn’t say anything. Instead it was Peter who replied, “Well, you see, I’m sort of in a situation here.”

One of the guards put a hand over his mouth as soon as he’d finished the sentence, but Yondu had of course still heard him. The blue man frowned and squinted as he took in the scene that was right in front of his eyes.

Stralla composed herself and said with her commander voice, “We’ve captured Peter Quill from your Ravager team and demand that you compensate us with a million units for the various objects that he has stolen from my crew. Only then will we return him.”

What followed was a stretched out silence as Yondu looked at them in annoyance and confusion, trying to make sense of the information he’d just been told.

Eventually he replied, “Now I don’t know who you think you are, lady, but you sure ain’t gonna be gettin’ any units from me anytime soon.”

Stralla was seemingly prepared for a response like this because she calmly said, “Then don’t expect to see Quill back with you anytime soon.”

Yondu narrowed his eyes and then said, “I think I’ll be the one decidin’ that,” before he ended the call.

Arienne flashed Stralla a concerned look and the strained features on her leader’s face didn’t exactly comfort her.

Peter mumbled something that nobody heard as his mouth was still covered by one of the guards’ hands, but the two women still turned to look at him. Stralla cocked her head to convey to the guard that he could remove his hand and let Peter speak.

He did so and Peter grinned at them as he repeated himself, “That was awkward.”

Stralla sighed in frustration and ran a hand through her long black hair. “Did Yondu just threaten me?” She asked, her tone both angered and concerned.

“I think he did, Captain,” Arienne said and pressed her lips together.

“Yeah,” Peter said, drawing the word out before continuing, “he doesn’t really like it when people give him ultimatums.”

Stralla gave him an irritated glare and said, “Shut him up and take him back to his cell,” to the guards. One of them instantly put a hand over his mouth again and then the two of them left the ship with Peter, heading for the stairs leading to the cells.

Stralla then stormed out of the ship with Arienne following right beside her and entered one of the many corridors.

“We have to activate the EA alarm, I think he’s going to attack us,” Stralla said as they strode through the ship.

During Arienne’s time with Stralla’s crew, she’d only experienced the Emergency Attack larm two times. And both of the times crew members had died and got seriously hurt and their ship had been damaged. In fact, Arienne had a long scar on her stomach from the last attack where she’d gotten stabbed by some crazed green creature. So when Stralla thought that it was time for a third EA alarm, Arienne knew that this was going to get really, really bad.

She nodded at her leader and asked, “How much time do you think we have before they get here?”

“Not much at all. I’m guessing they’ll get here through jumps which means that they could be here any second now,” Stralla said, her voice sounding very strained.

They reached the control room where the button for activating the EA alarm was located and Stralla took a deep breath and said, “This wasn’t how this was supposed to go,” before she tapped in the passcode protecting the button and then pressed it.

A loud beeping noise instantly filled the atmosphere and after several monotonous noises, a robotic voice spoke through the ship’s speaker system, “Attention all, the Emergency Attack alarm has been activated. All windows and openings are now being sealed. Gather your weapons and head to your designated positions. Prepare to defend the ship at all costs.”

Arienne leaned over so that she could shout something to Stralla, “I need to grab my weapons from my room.”

Stralla nodded at her and then the two of them split up, Arienne heading to her room and Stralla going down the stairs. The alarm was blaring as she made her way through the corridors and after a certain number of signals, the message that she’d heard before was repeated.

She’d almost arrived at her room when a rumble went through the ship, causing Arienne to trip and made her grab hold of the wall to keep from falling. Panic hit her and she wondered what had happened, when the tablet in her pocket began vibrating. She frantically answered the incoming call from Stralla as she started to jog.

“There’s a whole bunch of them outside the Freska who are currently attacking the western walls, and some have already gotten in from the South,” Stralla said as soon as Arienne answered the call. “I need you to get to the hangar and attack them from your ship. We can’t let them breach the walls.” Stralla didn’t wait for a response and ended the call as soon as she’d finished the sentence.

Arienne didn’t hesitate or question the command and instead only picked up her pace, now changing her route so that she’d get to the hangar. Some Ravagers must have managed to break into the ship before everything had been sealed off.

She picked up the pistol that she always kept with her in one of her many pockets and loaded it as she kept running. The hangar was unfortunately located at the Southern end of the ship, meaning that there was a risk that she’d encounter Ravagers on her way there.

Adrenaline pumped through her blood as she forced her legs to go even faster. She could hear her heart thundering in her chest and the defeaning alarm was still blaring all around her. The floor beneath her suddenly tilted and shook once more and Arienne lost her balance and slammed into the wall to her left.

She groaned in pain and pushed herself away so that she could keep going as the ship righted itself. Her shoulder hurt as she ran, but all she could to was to ignore it and fight through the pain.

All of a sudden a blast shot by her from behind, missing her head by a few decimetres. She instinctively crouched down and swirled around and laid eyes on the one who’d shot at her.

The attacker was a grey skinned Ravager who was now chasing after her. She fired a couple of shots at him and then quickly dove to her right, seeing him take aim on her again. She’d missed her mark however, and so she fired a few more times as she stood up.

The Ravager cried out in pain as the bullets hit his chest and he fell down. Arienne wasted no time and kept sprinting, now being so close to the hangar.

As she went through another door and rounded a corner, a second Ravager appeared in front of her, running towards her. With lightning fast reflexes she didn’t even stop before she fired at him and kept going as he fell down on the floor face first.

Arienne was only a few doors away from her ship now and she clenched her teeth as she pushed herself to go faster. Then the entire ship tilted once again, this time more forcefully than either of the previous two times.

She lost her balance and was flung against the wall with full force, the side of her head hitting it first. She fell down onto the floor as the ship tilted back to the other side and she instinctively reached for where she’d been wounded with her hand.

Arienne scrunched up her face and her ears rang. But she couldn’t just lay there. She had to get to the hangar before things got even worse. She tried to push herself up off the ground, but only managed to get into a sitting position. Her head was spinning and she couldn’t see straight.

She let go of her gun and grabbed onto the wall as she inched herself up to a standing position by leaning against it. Everything swayed but she kept climbing the wall with determination. Then something suddenly hit her in her back and she cried out in surprise before her entire body tensed up and she fell down on the floor again with a thud.

This time she wasn’t able to get up again. In fact, Arienne wasn’t capable of even turning her head so that she could identify her attacker. Her entire body was paralysed and she felt herself drifting out of consciousness as she desperately tried to see who’d done this to her.

The last thing that Arienne registered before everything turned dark for her was a somewhat familiar voice shouting, “Shit.”


	6. A Taste of Her Own Medicine

**Peter Quill’s POV**

Peter was being led down the stairs to his cell when the ship tilted the first time. He’d heard the alarm go off and the message that followed it, and so he assumed that Yondu had attacked the ship. As the guards stumbled and lost balance due to the floor shifting underneath their feet, he decided that this was his chance to escape.

He pulled himself free of the guards’ grip on him and shoved one of them down the stairs. He kneed the other one in her stomach and punched her in the face, causing her to fall and hit the railing of the stairs, knocking her out.

Peter crouched down and searched her for some weapon that he could steal and found a taser gun tucked into her belt. Even though he was more fond of blasters, he decided that this would do. So he grabbed it and then sprinted up the stairs, heading for his ship.

Once he was at the top, he stopped to catch his breath and try to remember where exactly the hangar was. The path branched off into three different corridors before him, and as he thought about it, he was fairly certain of that they’d came from the right one.

He decided to go with that as he wasn’t much of a second-guesser and generally trusted his gut feeling. Peter jogged through the corridor and as he went through on of the automatic sliding doors, he saw somebody leaning against the wall with her back to him.

As the person wasn’t wearing any of the typical red Ravager clothes, he immediately fired the taser gun, aiming for her back. She cried out as the stunning shot hit her and her body then tensed up and dropped to the floor.

Peter approached the woman and looked at her when recognition instantly hit him. Even though he couldn’t properly see her face as her head was turned away from him, her long, black hair and clothes were enough for him to identify her as his capturer.

“Shit,” he cursed out loud and pulled a hand through his hair in frustration. He debated just leaving the scene and taking off with his ship, but the longer he thought about it, the more he felt like he couldn’t just leave her there, unconscious and defenseless.

Knowing Yondu, he wouldn’t call off the attack until the entire ship was destroyed along with everyone on it. And that meant that Peter would basically be the one responsible for her death as he’d knocked her out. Even though she wasn’t exactly innocent, she didn’t deserve to be brutally killed along with her entire crew.

Before he changed his mind, he sighed and crouched down to pick her up. Luckily she was shorter than him and had a slim figure, so it wasn’t too difficult for him to lift her up and carry her over his shoulder.

Peter also noticed the gun that she’d supposedly dropped on the ground and picked it up, thinking that it’d be more useful than the taser he’d taken from the guard. He held it in his right hand while he used his left arm to keep Arienne in place, resting his hand right above the folds of her knees.

He began jogging through the corridors and hoped that the hangar was near now. From what he remembered, he hadn’t been walking for that long with the guards so it couldn’t be far away.

To his relief, the next door he went through led him to the hangar which was a lot emptier than it had previously been. There were some crew members and guards who were still around, but they were all so busy and stressed that nobody noticed Peter entering. A lot of the ships that had been parked there before were no longer there, and for a second Peter’s heart skipped a beat as he thought that someone might have taken the Milano as well.

He quickly scanned the area and let out a breath as his eyes landed on the familiar blue, grey, and orange ship some distance away to the right. Peter headed for it as soon as he’d located it, and he was so close to entering it when a voice called out to him.

“Stop and put her down or I’ll shoot.”

Peter stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face the stranger. Based on their clothing it was a member of the crew Arienne was in, but he didn’t think that he’d seen that person before. The man was aiming at him with a huge gun that looked like its sole purpose was to blast people into nothingness.

“Okay, okay,” he said and began crouching as if he would put Arienne down on the ground. The other person didn’t lower his gun, but he didn’t shoot either and so Peter decided to act before it was too late.

He fired his pistol a couple of times at the man, aiming for his chest. Then he straightened up and turned around as he bolted the last distance to the Milano. Behind him, the man grunted in pain and fired his massive gun at Peter, missing him by mere centimetres.

Peter didn’t look behind him as he entered his ship as quickly as he possibly could and then shut the door closed. He practically threw down Arienne on a couch and then rushed to the pilot seat, not even putting on the seatbelt before he turned on the engines and prepared to get the hell out of there.

Another ship in front of him was just now leaving the mothership and so the gate to freedom was still open. He steered the Milano towards it and went through before the gate could close on him and trap him in the hangar.

As he piloted the Milano away from the mothership and towards the nearest jump, he glanced back to see what was going on there and to find out if he was being followed. He spotted a large amount of Yondu’s ships surrounding the mothership and they were constantly firing at it, having already caused various holes in its exterior. As he watched, ships went inside it through the breaches. There were also ships belonging to the crew on the mothership who were firing back at the Ravagers, and while they managed to hold some of Yondu’s ships off, they were far too late to stop the attack.

In the chaos however, it seemed like nobody had followed Peter as he got further and further away from the mothership. They were all probably prioritising defending their own ship and couldn’t afford that a couple of ships would stop fighting off Yondu’s men so that they could pursue Peter.

 _At least something’s going my way_ , he thought to himself as he passed through the first jump and continued to go through a few more to put as much distance between himself and the mothership as possible. He then put the Milano into autopilot and got out of the seat, making his way to check on Arienne.

She was still unconscious and laid sprawled out on the couch from when he’d dumped her there. He figured that it would be good to check if she had any wounds because if she’d bleed out his whole heroic act would just go to waste. And besides, he didn’t want her to ruin his couch.

So he carefully inspected her to see if she was bleeding anywhere, but didn’t find any stains on her clothes and neither any cuts on the small areas of exposed skin. Peter frowned as he wondered how she could still be passed out if she seemed to be fine. But then he thought back to when he’d tased her and realised that she’d been leaning against the wall at the time, so perhaps she’d gotten injured before that and him tasing her had been the last drop.

Peter figured that it would perhaps be best to try to wake her up, but then another though hit him. What if the first thing she did when she opened up her eyes was to try and attack him? He really didn’t have the energy for that and so he decided that he would take a page out of her book before he awoke her, namely to tie her up.

He went over what items on his ship he could possibly use in his head and he figured that a belt would do the trick. But just as he was on his way to fetch one, an even better idea occurred to him. What if Arienne got a taste of her own medicine? She probably still had her cuffs on her as he’d seen her pocket them when she visited him in his cell back on the mothership.

Peter smirked to himself, pleased with the idea, and then went over to Arienne and checked the various pockets on her pants, looking for the cuffs. He found them and the controller almost immediately and held them up before him so that he he could understand how they worked.

After a quick inspection he laid the controller down on a shelf and put one cuff over each of her wrists and clicked them shut. They adjusted to the size of her wrists and tightly wrapped around them. He proceeded to use the chains that dangled from each cuff to first connect the two cuffs so that she couldn’t move her arms freely and then he fastened the plates to the couch, making sure that she was chained to it. Once he was done he took a step back and admired his work with a satisfied smile. He could already feel how annoyed she’d be when she woke up and realised what he’d done.

Then he went to fetch a glass of water to wake her up with because he felt like she deserved to have a not so pleasant awakening after what she’d done to him. After all, she’d given him electric shocks trice so he supposed that she could handle some water in her face. It was either that or slapping her, and something about hitting an unconscious woman didn’t really feel right to Peter.

“Rise and shine,” he said and then dumped an entire glass of water right over her face, making it splash and get on her clothes and the couch.


	7. Saying Please Was All You Had to Do

Arienne’s body jerked and her eyes flew wide open as she took a deep breath and instantly began coughing due to water getting into her mouth. She tried to sit up, but didn’t get more than halfway up as the cuffs held her in place.

She was utterly confused and didn’t understand where she was or what was going on. Her head and left shoulder ached and the rest of her body felt exhausted and sore. There was something wrapped around her wrists, holding them together and as she lifted them to her face she realised that she was wearing her own handcuffs. She was also apparently covered in water, her entire face being wet and her shirt was pretty soaked.

Although it hurt, she moved her head from side to side so that she could scan her surroundings and try to make some sense of the situation. She appeared to be laying down on a couch and looking to her right she only saw the brown leather back of it. She instead turned to the left where she found Peter standing and looking down at her with an amused smile playing at his lips, holding an empty glass. _Had he poured its contents on her?_ Arienne wondered and then wiped her face on her shoulders as best she could.

Based on the interior behind him, Arienne realised that she was back on his ship, which made no sense to her. She had no memory of how she’d gotten there or why she was even there in the first place. The last thing that she remembered was running through the corridors of the Freska, trying to get to the hangar…

“Oh, how I wish you could see the look on your face right now,” Peter said and grinned, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She frowned at him as she concentrated on remembering what had happened. One by one the memories flashed before her mind. The call with Yondu that had gone absolutely terrible. Stralla turning on the EA alarm. The Ravagers attacking the ship and Stralla calling Arienne and ordering her to get to the hangar. Her running through the corridors in a hurry, shooting at Ravagers. The ship tilting to its side twice and she hurt her shoulder and head. Her using her last strength to push herself off the ground, leaning against the wall. And then it was like a black hole was in her mind because she didn’t remember anything else after that. Arienne assumed that she must have passed out because that was the only reasonable explanation for her memory gap. She had hit her head pretty bad after all. But why was she aboard Peter’s ship? And what was happening at the Freska?

Arienne assumed that Peter would have some answers and so she asked, “What’s going on? Why am I here?”

He slowly shook his head and clicked his tongue a few times as if scolding her. “So impolite. I save your ass and the first thing you do is demand answers. Not even a thank you...” He said.

Arienne narrowed her eyes, knowing that he was being a jerk on purpose. She angrily said, “How can I thank you if I don’t even know what happened?”

“I just told you what happened. I saved you,” he stated.

She knew that he was acting like this just to get back at how she’d treated him before, and even though she told herself this, his taunting still infuriated her. And she needed answers. What if Stralla and her entire team were still in danger?

“Saved me _from what_?” She said.

“From death, I’m guessing,” he casually said and brushed off some dust from the arm of his leather jacket.

It seemed like Peter wasn’t planning on being helpful and a feeling of dread was growing inside of her as he kept avoiding her questions. She started thinking that something was very wrong and she _needed_ to know what had happened.

So, she sighed and desperately said, “Look, I know you have every right to treat me like shit after what I’ve done. But please, can you just tell me what happened?”

He looked at her for a moment and Arienne swore that she saw compassion flash in his eyes for a millisecond before he smirked and said, “Saying please was all you had to do.” He paused before he began explaining, “Well, all I know is that Yondu attacked your ship and I escaped from the guards. As I was making my way to the hangar, I saw you and well… I sort of might have accidentally tased you.”

Arienne raised her brows. “You did what now?”

Peter put his hands up, palms facing her. “I swear, I didn’t know that it was you,” he said and then added, “Besides, it’s not like you haven’t done worse to me.”

“Then this makes us even,” Arienne said.

Peter chuckled once and then replied, “It really doesn’t.”

Arienne pressed her lips together and had to admit that he was right. What she had done to him was far worse and she also had no reason to believe that him tasing her had been intentional, because if so, why would he then have bothered to bring her with him to his ship? As that thought hit her, she decided that it was actually something that she wanted to ask him.

“So you tased me and then you felt guilty and brought me back to your ship?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Believe it or not, but it’s actually pretty common to feel bad when you’ve done something wrong,” he said and smiled at her teasingly.

“Yeah, but it’s not like you owed me one,” she retorted, not being able to accept his answer.

“Would you’ve preferred it if I’d just left you there?” He joked.

“Well, no, obviously. I just find it hard to believe that a Ravager felt bad for his kidnapper,” she joked back.

He grinned a little. “You’re forgetting that I’m a _Terran_ Ravager.”

She smiled amusingly. “Yeah, you know what they say, compassion is the human flaw.”

“Right,” he replied and laughed a little. “No wonder you turned out the way you did.”

Arienne rolled her eyes at him but couldn’t help but smile a little. Then she decided that they’d drifted away from the topic and so she said, “Anyway, I appreciate that you spared me from being blasted in the head by one of your red leather wearing friends, but I should really get back to the ship. Would you mind taking me there?”

She knew that she was asking for a lot, but since he’d already saved her life and taken her to his ship, it didn’t seem that far fetched that he’d also agree to take her back. Besides, then he’d finally get rid off her and never have to see her again, which was surely all he wanted.

Peter looked rather uncomfortable after she’s asked him this and he put the glass he was holding on a shelf, buying himself time to reply to her. “Yeah, about that…” he said, drawing each word out and pressing his lips together before continuing, “I don’t know if there’s anything for you to get back to.” He refused to meet her worried eyes and instead awkwardly looked to his side as he finished, “From what I saw when I flew away from there, they looked pretty overpowered.”

 _Was he playing a cruel prank on her?_ Arienne thought. It would make sense that he’d still want to mess with her, but at the same time, he’d looked so uncomfortable and sincere when he’d told her about the Freska’s supposed fate. Yet she couldn’t trust him merely because of that, he could just be a good actor for all she knew.

“What exactly did you see?” Arienne asked, refusing to think that he could possibly be telling the truth.

He scratched the back of his head and looked like he considered what to say next. “Yondu’s guys attacked your ship and even though your team fought back, they were too late and too few. Last thing I saw was a bunch of his ships entering it through the holes they’d made,” he said truthfully.

 _There’s no way that it’s actually that bad_ , Arienne thought. After all, the Freska had been attacked before and she’d been there to witness it twice. Enemies had gotten aboard and they had also done damage to the ship, but never as terrible as the supposed shipsized holes that the Ravagers had made. _What if he is telling the truth_? She thought, but pushed down the worry before it would consume her.

Instead she tried to focus on taking action and doing something about the situation. “If that’s true, then I really need to be there,” she said with determination.

He grimaced and said, “That’s a suicide mission.”

“I’d rather die protecting my ship and crew than to sit by doing nothing and survive,” Arienne retorted with anger.

Peter shook his head slowly and replied, “Of course you would.”

She was about to keep arguing for him to take her there when a ringing noise suddenly filled the air. Peter sighed and said, “Hold on,” before he walked away from her to the source of the ringing, which Arienne assumed was the holographic screen that Stralla had called Yondu from earlier today.

 _It’s not like I can go anywhere_ , she bitterly responded to his last words in her head and then tried to free her wrists by lifting her arms. But she knew that there was no use, there was no way she’d get out of the cuffs unless Peter pressed the button on the controller which she had no idea where he’d put.

Even though Peter was out of sight, he was still in earshot because now she heard him curse before he supposedly replied to the incoming call and overenthusiastically said, “Hey, Yondu. Good to see you.”

“So you escaped, huh?” Yondu said slyly.

“Yeah,” Peter replied and paused before he asked, “How did you know that?”

“I always know what you’re up to, boy,” Yondu said and chuckled a little.

“That’s not creepy at all,” Peter said sarcastically. Then he added, “Anyway, thanks for the save.”

“Don’t you start takin’ it for granted. I only bothered to get there ‘cause that goody-two-shoe crew’s been gettin’ in the way lately. Figured it was time to show ‘em what happens if you mess with me.”

Arienne frowned as she heard this and the worry from before came back to her. This time she wasn’t really able to push it down again. Stralla’s crew had in fact been messing things up for the Ravagers by returning items that they had stolen to their rightful owners before the Ravagers could sell them off. Arienne herself had been handed several missions like that in the last month and had earned units as a reward for returning the possessions.

“Did you destroy their ship?” Peter carefully asked.

Yondu laughed. “You bet I did. Wasn’t much left when I got out of there. Shame you missed it.”

“What about everybody aboard?” Peter inquired.

Arienne could feel Yondu smirking even though she couldn’t see his ugly blue face. “They all got what they deserved for puttin’ their noses where they don’t belong.”

She gulped as she heard this, but refused to believe that he’d both destroyed the Freska and killed her entire crew. It was simply too horrible to be true. And yet the man was laughing and joking about it like it was nothing. Arienne felt the hatred for him grow inside of her and she promised herself that she’d get revenge for what he’d done.

“Right…” Peter said.

“I expect you to come by soon. It’s been a while,” Yondu said, casually changing the topic.

“I will, I will. Promise,” he replied, although it didn’t sound like he meant it.

But it must’ve sounded sincere enough for Yondu because he replied, “Good,” and then none of them said anything more and so Arienne presumed that the call had ended.

Her assumption was confirmed as Peter walked back into the room where she was laying and looked at her apologetically as he approached her.

Before he had the chance to open his mouth, however, Arienne sharply said, “Don’t. I don’t want to hear it. Just take me to the ship, I want to see it with my own eyes.” She paused and then added in a more gentle tone, “Please.”


	8. Can You Blame Me?

Peter looked uncomfortable at her request and grimaced as he thought through what she was asking him. Eventually he said, “I don’t know, are you sure you want to?”

“Yes. Maybe Yondu didn’t kill everyone and there are survivors who need help,” Arienne said with a determined voice, trying her hardest to convince both him and herself of that.

He tilted his head from side to side, considering her words. Then he looked at her and saw the confidence mixed with desperation in her eyes, and said, “Okay, fine.”

Arienne’s face lit up a little with hope as he agreed and she said, “Thanks. If you uncuff me, I can fly us there.”

Peter looked at her with disbelief and said, “So that you can knock me out and steal my ship again, you mean?”

She met his green eyes and as sincerely as possible said, “No, I swear I won’t do that.” In fact, she meant what she said, but at the same time she understood his lack of trust towards her.

He narrowed his eyes at her and crossed his arms. “Give me one good reason why you wouldn’t.”

Arienne didn’t even have to think about it for a second before she responded, “I could use your help on the Freska to rescue survivors.”

They stared into each other’s eyes in silence for a moment after that, Peter seemingly trying to decide if he should believe her or not. Then he sighed and uncrossed his arms. “Alright, you’ve convinced me. But you better not try something…” He trailed off and looked as if something had just occurred to him. He grimaced before adding, “Amanda?”

Arienne raised her brows at him and almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of him calling her some random name. Did he really not know her name? Although she supposed that he didn’t since they hadn’t exactly ever introduced themselves, and that time in the bar she’d given him a fake name, which had surely not been Amanda though.

“Is that what you remember me telling you?” She asked him.

“Well, you didn’t exactly repeat it anytime after the bar,” he retorted with.

“You specifically complimented my name,” she said and couldn’t help but smile a little.

“You know what, I feel like I’m entitled to forget your name after everything I’ve been through,” Peter countered with.

Arienne rolled her eyes at him, feeling like he was using that as an excuse for everything. “It’s Arienne,” she said.

“Give me a break, I wasn’t even that far off,” Peter protested.

“Sure, if it makes you feel better,” she taunted.

Then he grabbed the controller for the handcuffs from the shelf he’d placed it on and looked her in the eyes as he said, “Now don’t you dare try anything, _Arienne_ ,” putting emphasis on her name.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, _Peter_ ,” she said, mimicking his tone and purposely using similar words to what he’d said to her when they’d landed on the Freska. That seemed like an eternity ago based on everything that had happened since then.

He flashed her an amused look and then pressed the button, finally releasing her from the cuffs.

Peter observed her with caution as she got up off the couch and stretched her arms and legs out. She proceeded to pick up the handcuffs from where they’d slided down on the couch and turned to him, holding them out to him.

“Keep them,” Arienne offered.

He looked at her with a surprised expression and had apparently been expecting her to do something completely different. Nevertheless he took them from her and looked confused as he said, “Thanks?”

“You’re welcome,” she responded and then started walking over to the pilot seat.

Peter stuffed the cuffs and the controller in an inner pocket in his jacket and then followed right behind her.

Arienne seated herself and picked up her tablet so that she could figure out the closest route to the Freska. Peter sat down in the co-pilot seat next to hers and curiously looked at her tablet as she tapped on it.

“I thought you said that you knew the way,” he commented.

“I said that I could fly us there, and that is not the same thing as knowing the way by heart,” she retorted. Arienne had now figured out the route and so she turned off the ship’s autopilot and took control. She steered the ship into the nearest jump, following the directions on her tablet.

“You just wanted an excuse to get out of the cuffs, didn’t you?” He asked.

She smiled. “Can you blame me?”

Peter laughed a little and then replied, “Based on recent personal experience, I can confidently say that no, I cannot.”

Arienne rolled her eyes and then flew the ship through the first jump. The casual banter that she was having with Peter kept her from worrying too much about what had happened at the Freska and if the two of them would make it there in time to help. She knew that it was both selfish and stupid of her to think like that, but she needed a distraction to be able to cope with everything that was going on, and Peter was both a convenient and good one.

“Does she have a name?” Arienne asked, breaking the silence to stop her thoughts from drifting. She petted a lever to illustrate that she was talking about his ship.

“Of course,” he said, “The Milano.”

“Like the city?” Arienne wondered as they went through another jump. Only two more to go before they’d arrive near the Freska.

“There’s a city called Milano? Never heard of it.”

She chuckled. “It’s in Europe, Italy.”

“My Terran geography is a bit rusty,” he said and smiled.

Arienne huffed and asked, “Then what does it stand for?”

“Heard of Alyssa Milano? She’s an actress.”

“The girl in _Who’s the Boss_?” She asked, remembering one of her favourite TV shows back on Terra as they passed through another jump.

“Yes!” Peter exclaimed and added, “I had the biggest crush on her when I was younger.”

Arienne laughed at that, thinking, _of course he’d named his spaceship after some actress he thought was hot._ “What a grand gesture to name a spaceship after her. If only she knew,” Arienne teased.

“I know right? Sadly she’ll live her whole life never knowing,” he joked.

“You could pay her a visit though. Land in her backyard and proudly declare your undying love for her,” Arinne said and smiled.

“And then spend the rest of my life in prison?”

“Worth it,” she replied as she steered the Milano through the final jump. They were very close to the Freska now and could see it as a little grey dot before them. She felt her worry rise as they came nearer and nearer.

He huffed and said, “I think I’ll pass.”

Arienne was incapable of replying as the ship now appeared clearly in front of them and she was able to make out the scene. She slowed down the Milano and felt a lump form in her throat as she took the view in.

The Freska had countless large holes in it and the entire ship looked damaged. Its previously shiny, silver surface had turned into a black and crumpled up mess. Surrounding it were various pieces of what seemed to be destroyed ships, floating around in space. In Arienne’s horror, it wasn’t only wreckage that was out there, but also corpses.

She put a hand over her mouth and mumbled, “Oh my god.”

“I’m sorry,” Peter quietly said as he too gazed out at the scenery. When he’d escaped from the ship, it certainly hadn’t looked like that. But he knew how cruel and merciless Yondu could be, and Arienne’s poor crew was just another example of how he treated people that he had issues with.

Arienne couldn’t stand staring at the destruction before her for even a moment longer so she steered the Milano towards the hangar of the mothership, the determination of getting inside and saving any potential survivors being her only driveforce.

“What are you doing?” Peter asked, sounding concerned.

“There could still be people inside,” she weakly responded, her voice close to trembling.

“I don’t thin…” he started, but trailed off and didn’t say anything else as she landed the ship on the entirely deserted hangar. Only a few other ships were still there, but there were no signs of life. He grimaced at the scene and was obviously not too pleased with Arienne’s decision, yet she appreciated that he didn’t try to argue with her or persuade her to turn back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this new chapter! Just wanted to say thanks for the kudos, comments, and bookmarks that I've gotten so far. They make me happy and motivate me to keep writing this story :)


	9. Not Really

Once Arienne had parked the Milano, she took off her seatbelt and got out of the seat. Peter was right behind her and grabbed his helmet as they strode through the ship.

Before Arienne could open the exit however, he held out the helmet and said, “Hold on. Wear this. The oxygen levels could be messed up.”

She grabbed it but frowned at him. “What about you?”

“Uhm, are there any extra ones laying around here?”

Arienne thought about it and quickly realised, “Mine’s in my ship. I’ll go grab it.”

He nodded and she put on the helmet and then left the Milano. Arienne sprinted to her ship which was fairly close to where she’d parked. Seeing it almost made her tear up, but she held back the tears as she entered it and hurried over to the desk where she knew she’d left the helmet on. She grabbed it and rushed back to the Milano as fast as she could.

She entered and returned Peter’s helmet to him and instead put on her own jet black motorcycle inspired one. Then they departed from the ship together and Arienne took the lead as they jogged over to a corridor leading to the western part of the ship, choosing that path as she remembered Stralla telling her that’s where Yondu’s ships had attacked.

The usual bright, white lights were out and all that was illuminating the corridors were red emergency lights that flickered from time to time. Luckily Arienne knew the Freska like the back of her hand and so she had no trouble finding the right way even in the dimness. What was rather worrying however, was that they kept hearing weird noises from the ship. Clinking, thumping, and banging sounds that couldn’t bode well. Arienne had never heard anything like it before, but then again, the Freska had never been in such a bad state like it was right now.

Suddenly she saw someone laying on the ground before them and she ran up to the person and crouched down beside them. She turned them around as they were laying on their stomach and sharply drew in a breath as she realised that it was her friend Krue. Her light blue skin was drained of colour and a pair of lifeless, grey eyes stared up at her.

A tear slipped down Arienne’s cheek inside her helmet and she carefully closed Krue’s eyes with a shaking hand. Then she got up on wobbly feet, knowing that she couldn’t stay there any longer. 

Her and Peter continued to jog through the corridor until they made it to the western part, where the control room also was. Arienne remembered that this was where she’d last seen Stralla and bit her inner cheek as she realised it. However, she had no time for reminiscence as they entered a large open space and the sight before them made Arienne’s heart stop.

At least twenty bodies laid sprawled out on the floor, completely still and lifeless. She walked up to them, shaking and with tears silently rolling down her cheeks. Most of them she knew as her colleagues and friends, and only some of the bodies were Ravagers. Arienne didn’t dare to sit down with one of them like she’d done with Krue because she feared that if she did, she’d never get up again.

However, when Arienne walked past a woman with purple skin and void black hair, she couldn’t help but fall down on her knees. She gasped in horror as she reached out for Stralla’s cold throat, checking her pulse. But there was nothing pulsating beneath her fingertips and Arienne closed her eyes, unwilling to believe that this was anything other than a horrible nightmare.

_ This can’t be happening _ , Arienne thought as she withdrew her hand. She’d last spoken to Stralla only a few hours ago and now she was laying dead before her. What had her last words to her even been? That she’d grab her weapons from her room? And before that she’d had a dispute with her where she’d been mad about her holding back information about Peter. All of that seemed so petty and unimportant now.

She’d never had any time to tell her how much she appreciated her or how thankful she was for the fact that she’d ended up with Stalla’s crew out of everyone in the universe. Stralla had seen potential in her and allowed her to work her way to the top, always showing appreciation for Arienne’s efforts and dedication. And all Arienne had done recently was to be ungrateful and disrespect her.  _ I should be the one laying there dead, not Stralla _ , Arienne thought as she opened up her eyes and looked at Stralla’s lifeless face.

 

✧✦✧

 

**Peter Quill’s POV**

As Arienne was on the floor, mourning her dead Captain and friend, Peter left the scene taken right out of a horror movie and headed up to the control room. He’d noticed an intense blue light coming from within the small room and was going there to investigate, also thinking that Arienne could use some space. She didn’t notice him leave and had probably not paid any attention to the light either.

He entered the room and walked up to three monitors that were the source of the bright light. On each screen were two words written in bold, white letters and Peter cursed out loud as he read what they said.  _ Power shortage. Engines overheating. Evacuate ship immediately. _ This message only confirmed the ominous feeling he’d been having ever since they went through those corridors and heard the sounds coming from deep within the ship. 

Yondu had obviously really messed up the ship and if he and Arienne didn’t get out of there soon, Peter feared that the whole thing might explode and kill them in the process.

So he rushed out of the control room and approached Arienne. She was still sitting down next to her Captain’s dead body, her hands trembling. He crouched down to her height and gently placed a hand on her upper arm.

“Arienne, we need to get out of here,” he carefully said.

She neither reacted nor responded so Peter waited a few moments before he tried again. “The ship’s going to explode.”

This time she at least shook her head slowly, but he couldn’t see her face due to her helmet’s sleek and reflective surface. Eventually she quietly said, “What’s the point…”

She hadn’t phrased it as a question, but had merely stated it hopelessly. Peter grew concerned as he’d never seen a person with so much determination just lose it all and give up. He didn’t know how to act or what to say, but figured that it was better to try and do something.

“I’m sorry, but we have to go,” he said, his voice sounding a little desperate.

Once more she shook her head and then sadly said, “I can’t.”

He sighed in frustration and decided to try another technique as this definitely didn’t seem to be working. “Look, if you stay here, Yondu wins. You have to be strong and not let him get to you,” he said, speaking from his heart. 

Arienne was quiet for a while before she tilted her head up and faced him. He supposed that she was looking at him, but he couldn’t exactly be sure with that helmet. Then she simply said, “Okay.”

Peter stood up and offered her his hand which she took and he pulled her up from the floor. He let go once she was standing up as well and then the two of them started to head back to the hangar through the same corridor that they’d used before. 

The pounding noises that came from within the ship, supposedly from the engine room, were louder now than when they’d ran through here before. Peter wondered for how long the message had been on in the control room and prayed that the two of them would make it out of the ship in time. He was certainly not prepared to die today and this was not exactly the way he wanted to go.

They’d made it more than halfway to the Milano when a distant, rumbling sound filled the air and the floor started shaking. Peter wasted no time and said, “Come on!” before he picked up the pace. He looked back and saw that, to his relief, Arienne had also started running. So he turned his gaze forward and focused on keeping his balance as the floor beneath them continued to vibrate.

Peter and Arienne entered the hangar just as they heard another, louder boom. This time the ground didn’t only vibrate, but the whole ship tilted a little to its right side and remained that way. They stumbled as they felt the ground shift beneath their feet, but kept going nevertheless.

They sprinted the last distance to the Milano and quickly went inside, removed their helmets, and plopped down in the pilot seats. Peter was the one who steered the ship this time and he immediately prepared the ship for takeoff.

Even though they were inside of the Milano, a third thundering sound could be heard from the Freska, causing Peter to tap the buttons and pull the levers faster. His ship lifted as the entire Freska shook, making parts of the ruined ceiling fall down. 

He piloted the Milano out of there as quickly as he could and set course for anywhere away from the Freska. Once they’d made a fair amount of distance between themselves and the exploding mothership, he slowed down and set the ship in autopilot. 

Arienne got out of her seat at that point and bolted for the bathroom, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Peter decided to leave her alone and to instead get himself something to drink. After all that he’d been through in the last day or so, he sure needed it. So he stood up and made his way to the kitchen area and rummaged through the cupboards in search for a specific sort of liquor. He found the rectangle shaped bottle filled with a thick, dark purple substance that he was looking for and poured himself a little in a glass.

He drank it all in two gulps and grimaced at the aftertaste. Even though it didn’t exactly taste fantastic, it was no ordinary alcoholic beverage. It also contained some sort of sedative that worked wonders when he had trouble sleeping, which he figured that he might have tonight.

Before he put the bottle away, he poured some more in the glass, thinking that Arienne might want some as well. He took the glass with him and went over to the two bunk beds and put it down on the small table between them. 

Since Arienne still hadn’t left the bathroom, he decided to check on her and went over there and knocked on the door twice before asking, “Everything alright?”

“Not really,” she said from inside.

Peter felt bad for her and wanted to make her feel better, although he didn’t exactly know how or if he even could. “How about we get some sleep?” He proposed in lack of a better idea.

“Yeah,” she responded and paused before adding, “I just need a moment.”

“Of course,” he said, “The bunk next to mine is all yours. And if you feel like you need it, there’s a sedative drink on the table next to the bed.”

She was a silent for a moment before she said, “Thanks.”

Peter nodded to himself and then left, going to his bunk. He undressed and slid under the covers, turned to the side and faced the wall as he closed his eyes. He drifted off to sleep thanks to the drink long before Arienne went out of the bathroom.


	10. Avenge Her Fallen Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers :) Decided to post this chapter today on the 24th of May to celebrate a month since the premiere of Endgame! (The chapter name is a small reference to the movie, haha).
> 
> Also, just a heads up that there are some depressive thoughts in this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

Arienne woke up after a much needed sleep with no clue of what time it was or where she even was. Everything came back to her pretty fast though and she exhaled loudly as the past day’s events flashed before her eyes. She buried her face in the pillow and tried her hardest to not think about the horrific, destroyed Freska and how all of her colleagues and friends had been killed. She failed miserably in doing so and could especially not rid herself of the image of Stralla’s lifeless face. The whole situation seemed so nightmarish, yet brutally real at the same time.

The only thing she was capable of thinking about to distract herself from the horrors was what she would do now. For as long as she could remember, she’d always had a goal that she had tried her hardest to reach. On Terra she had believed that she’d fit in better in the next school or the next family. And on the Freska she’d focused on working her way to a better position.

But now her whole life had been flipped upside down and she struggled to find a purpose. Her home, friends, and job had all been taken away from her at the same time by the same awful man, and all she had left now was herself and a very unclear relationship with Peter.

She wouldn’t exactly say that they were friends, and she doubted even more that he’d consider her as one. Yet he had been both nice and considerate to her ever since he’d rescued her from the Freska, excluding the part when he’d chained her up and soaked her with water, of course. Ironically enough that man was probably her closest acquaintance right now, a thought that both saddened and humored Arienne.

Arienne felt no motivation at all to get out of bed or to even do anything other than to lay there with her face burrowed in the pillow. What was even the point anymore? How could something that was so painfully wrong ever be turned right again? These thoughts weren’t entirely unfamiliar to her, yet it had been a while since the last time she’d felt this way. She’d been a little too young on Terra for her mind to wander down such a dark path, but in the first years of being in space she’d definitely had depressive thoughts similar to these. Eventually though she’d found meaning and a life that she could enjoy, all thanks to Stralla.

She felt a lump in her throat as she was reminded once again of her dead friend and shut her eyes firmly to keep tears from spilling. But then she wondered why she bothered to resist and so she relaxed her face, allowing herself to cry. Unlike the silent tears that had streaked her cheeks yesterday, she was now fully sobbing, draining the pillow, and sniffling.

Arienne didn’t know for how long she’d been crying when she felt the mattress sink down beside her and a hand beginning to gently stroke her back. She slowly turned her head to the right without moving her body, and saw that Peter had sat down on her bed. His hair was wet and his green eyes were looking at her, filled with worry.

Normally, she’d feel embarrassed and weak if someone she barely knew saw her in such a vulnerable state, but now she only felt numb and indifferent. Her sadness consumed her and didn’t leave room for any other emotions.

He continued to rub her back as he gently said, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Arienne drew in a shaky breath and even though she wanted to reply, she felt incapable of doing so. Instead she closed her eyes briefly and lightly shook her head, hoping that he’d understand the small gesture.

Peter evidently did as he didn’t say anything else, but he still remained sitting there beside her. A part of her appreciated him doing so and she felt comforted by his calming strokes. Her sobbing quieted down and she was now only crying silently.

After a while, Peter left her side and Arienne found herself feeling disappointed by his absence. However, it didn’t take long before he returned to her, once more sitting down next to her.

“Whenever I’m sad, listening to this always makes me feel better,” he softly said and held out his Walkman and headphones to her.

His gesture pleasantly surprised her and she turned herself over so that she was laying on her back. She looked at him tentatively, being hesitant to trust his offer. But Peter nodded at her encouragingly and so she reached out for the music player with shaky hands. He gave it to her and she put the headphones over her ears and pressed play on the device. Familiar tunes of the Terran 70s song _Fooled Around And Fell in Love_ started playing and her lips curved upwards a little.

Arienne was hit with a sudden worry of being left alone again and so she desperately reached out her hand towards Peter. A pained expression appeared on his face, but it was gone so soon she wasn’t sure she’d really seen it, and he instead smiled a little as he took her hand.

She didn’t care that it might be both weird and inappropriate of her to wish for him to hold her hand. All she knew was that his touch comforted her and right now she was willing to do anything to relieve even an inch of the pain inside of her. She couldn’t recall the last time when someone had been so gentle and caring to her when she’d been sad, so it wasn’t that unreasonable that she had quite literally grabbed onto the first person to soothe her distress.

Arienne felt her tears slow down and thin out as Peter rubbed his thumb in circles on the back of her hand. She focused on his touch and on the words of the cheesy love songs that were playing in her ears. Her breathing steadied and the overwhelming pain that felt like a pressure on her chest lightened with every song.

Eventually she felt calm and strong enough to let go of his hand and push herself up to a sitting position. She paused the music and took off the headphones, placing them in her lap.

She took a deep breath and said, “Thank you… I-I,” she paused and inhaled and exhaled slowly again, composing herself before trying again, “I’m sorry for everything I did.” Her voice was quiet and hoarse and her throat felt dry.

“It’s okay,” Peter said and smiled before adding, “Others have treated me worse after all.”

Arienne laughed a little at his attempt of making her feel better. “Did I at least make it to the top five?” She asked weakly, trying her best to have a light tone.

He chuckled. “Yeah, you’re definitely up there.” Then he stood up and offered her his hand as he said, “Now come on, let’s get you some water.”

She nodded, thinking that that was a great suggestion. Her throat and mouth were dry as paper, partly because of all the crying, but also due to that disgusting beverage she’d drunken before she’d fallen asleep.

Arienne took his hand and stood up with his help. As she did, the two of them came so close to each other that she felt his breath on her forehead. Their eyes met and Peter carefully brushed aside a strand of hair from Arienne’s face.

She suddenly felt self conscious and figured that she must look like a wreck right now. So she looked away, breaking their eye contact, and began walking towards the kitchen area.

There, she found a glass and filled it to the brim with water, holding it with two hands as she chugged its contents. Peter watched her with an amused expression from a few metres beside her. Arienne’s thirst wasn’t quenched and so she poured herself another glass, but drank this one somewhat slower.

“You act like you’ve been lost in the desert for a week,” he commented as she put the glass down on the counter.

“Sure feels like it,” she responded and the two of them chuckled. Arienne wiped her mouth with her sleeve and then said, “I could really use a shower as well. Mind if I take one?”

“You just want to steal all my water, huh? Is that it?”

“Shit, you figured out my plan,” she joked back.

“I always do,” he replied and grinned.

Arienne rolled her eyes and smiled. “I’m gonna take a shower,” she then said and turned around to walk to the bathroom.

“Knock yourself out,” he commented before he left the kitchen area as well, going to the room with the tablet on the table.

Once Arienne was inside, she locked the bathroom door and took off her clothes. She stepped inside the shower, turned on the water and let it pour down on her. It felt exceptionally nice to wash off all the sweat, dirt, and tears from her body and she cherished the feeling of the hot water cleansing her.

However, when she eventually turned off the tap and stepped out, she tensed up from her previous relaxed state as she realised that she’d have to put on her old clothes again. The small pile of clothes laying on the ground reminded her of the fact that she now owned nothing more but that. And who’s fault was that? Only one face appeared in her mind and she felt a surge of anger flowing through her as she pictured the blue-skinned Ravager leader.

It was him who had refused to negotiate with Stralla. Him who had ambushed their ship and had showed no mercy when he completely destroyed the Freska and slaughtered everyone on it. And he thought that he’d gotten away with it. _But oh how wrong he is_ , Arienne thought as she clenched her fists. She would make sure that he’d pay for all the damage that he’d done, there was no doubt about that. At this point she wasn’t exactly sure how she’d do that, but if she stuck around with Peter for long enough, an opportunity would surely present itself. Besides, Yondu probably thought that there were no survivors left, so she had the element of surprise on him.

Arienne dried her hair and dressed herself, now filled with some sort of purpose. She would avenge her fallen friends and make sure that Yondu deeply regretted his actions. She left the bathroom with fires burning in her eyes and made her way to where Peter was sitting.

He looked up from the tablet as she approached and said, “Hey, you look refreshed and ready to set course for a new destination.”

She frowned a little and looked confused by his words. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that we’re gonna need to fly to Trafua,” he answered.

From what Arienne knew, Trafua was a planet not too far from here. She’d visited it a couple of times before and she remembered that there was a lot of greenery on it and it seemed to always rain there. But the inhabitants were nice enough and their capital city offered many opportunities.

“For any particular reason?” She asked.

“Business,” he simply said.

She raised an eyebrow at him and he added, “You don’t have to come with, obviously.”

“What if I want to?”

He looked uncomfortable and replied, “I’m meeting Yondu there.”

Arienne’s interest was instantly sparked and a plan began forming in her mind. Perhaps she wouldn’t have to wait so long for her opportunity after all.

Apparently she hadn’t hidden her reaction very well though, and perhaps her sly expression wasn’t what he had expected, because now Peter squinted at her and slowly said, “You’re definitely not coming with.”

She stared at him and bitterly said, “Didn’t know you cared so much about him.”

“I don’t,” he quickly said, “I just don’t want you to—” He interrupted himself, trying to find the right words until he eventually started over, “Look, whatever you think you can do to him, you can’t. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

“Not hard enough apparently. Everyone has a weak spot,” Arienne countered.

Peter scoffed. “Tell that to his Yaka Arrow.”

“His what?”

“How do you think he wiped out your entire crew?” He asked her, and when Arienne only stared at him with clenched fists, he continued, “He has this weapon that he controls by whistling. You won’t even have a chance to open your mouth before that arrow has pierced through your forehead.”

Arienne remained silent for a while before she took a deep breath and said, “You’re right.” She sighed. “But you can’t blame me for wanting revenge.”

He shrugged. “Guess I can’t.”

They were silent for a moment before Peter spoke up again, “So you’ll stay here then?”

“Actually, I’d rather come with to Trafua. I could use some fresh air and maybe I’ll even buy myself some new clothes,” Arienne said innocently.

Peter looked at her, trying to figure out if those were in fact her true intentions. But Arienne showed him nothing that could make him doubt her, and she thanked her past self for being trustworthy when he had removed her handcuffs. They’d gotten along well recently and Arienne figured that he had no reason to mistrust her now.

“Yeah, alright,” he eventually said and got up from the chair and clapped his hands together once. “Let’s go,” he added before he headed over to the pilot seats.

Arienne nodded and followed right behind him, sitting down in the co-pilot seat. She wondered if he’d be surprised when she didn’t in fact go shopping and instead killed Yondu. Would he be disappointed in her? Feel betrayed? She brushed those thoughts away and focused on coming up with a plan as she didn’t have that much time. _He’ll understand_ , she tried to convince herself of. _If he were in my shoes, he’d do the same_.


	11. What the Actual Fuck

They landed the Milano in a parking area in the centre of the biggest city on Trafua, Likoy. It was dark outside and as usual, it rained, but at least they didn’t have to wear their helmets since the atmosphere wasn’t toxic.

The buildings and streets were lit up with bright, green lights that suited the planet’s abundance of plant life. There were trees, bushes, and vines everywhere, and some stores and homes were in fact directly hollowed out from a tree. Even the native Trafuans looked like trees with their coarse, bark-looking skin, and hair that changed colour depending on the season. It all made Arienne a bit uncomfortable, but at least the air here was impeccable.

“Whenever I come here, I feel like I’m breathing for the first time,” she said to Peter as they walked down one of the main streets. She inhaled deeply to demonstrate her point and enjoyed how her lungs filled up with clean, fresh oxygen.

“True. If they weren’t so weird about trees, I’d come here more often,” he replied.

Arienne chuckled as she knew exactly what he meant. Not only were there trees everywhere and the Trafuans looked like them, but they also unconditionally worshipped those plants. The punishment for cutting down a tree was prison, and even stepping on a smaller plant could result in a fine. All food that was served on Trafua came from the plant world as they refused to eat anything other than what nature gave them. Arienne hadn’t investigated this, but she was fairly sure of that there must be some sort of strict, plant religion here that they all followed.

“Alright, this is me,” Peter said and stopped walking. He cocked his head to the right, gesturing to a smaller street. 

Arienne nodded. “See you on the Milano?” She asked.

“Sure,” he replied, “Good luck finding something wearable around here.” 

She huffed and sarcastically said, “Thanks.”

He grinned and said, “Bye,” before he walked away down the street.

She watched him go until he turned a corner, and then she jogged after him to see where he was going. Arienne had no idea where exactly he was meeting Yondu because if she’d asked him that, he would’ve probably gotten suspicious with her intentions again. So she thought that it was best that she just figured it out herself and let him believe that she was shopping for clothes.

Arienne peaked her head around the corner he’d turned and saw him striding through another small street. She hunched down and jogged behind him, keeping a fair distance between them. Hopefully he wouldn’t spot her if he turned around as it was both dark and there were other pedestrians on the street as well.

She followed him like that for another few turns until he stopped outside of a bar with blue neon signs on it. He inspected the place for a couple of seconds before he shrugged and went inside. 

Arienne waited several minutes before she snuck inside the bar as well. It was a gloomy place and the air inside was so heavy and smoky in comparison to the outside that it made her cough as her lungs adjusted to it.

From where she was standing, she only saw the bar counter and a bunch of stools in front of it. While some of the seats were occupied, none of the ones sitting there were Peter or Yondu. So she carefully looked around the corner and saw a larger open space with a dance floor, some tables and chairs, as well as booths lining the wall opposite from her. She scanned the space and spotted Peter and Yondu sitting in a booth, engaging in conversation. They each had a plate of food and a tall mug filled with some beverage in front of them, so Arienne supposed that the two men would be sitting there for some time.

_ What now? _ She internally asked herself as she returned to the little hallway, removing herself from their eyesight. Obviously she couldn’t act while Peter was sitting right next to Yondu because then he’d just intervene and try to stop her. That meant that she had to act when the Ravager leader was alone, however she didn’t exactly know how she’d get them away from each other. 

If Peter went to buy something more at the bar, she would have a chance, although it would most likely not give her enough time. Arienne didn’t just want to kill Yondu, after all. She wanted him to understand exactly who was doing it to him and why before he died. She wanted him to bleed and suffer as he took his last dying breaths.

The ideal situation would probably be if Peter went to the bathroom, but Arienne had no way of guaranteeing that he would do so. She ran a hand through her hair in frustration and felt annoyed with herself. She wasn’t used to not having a plan and instead having to make up things as she went along. Even though Arienne’s life had almost always been chaotic and unpredictable, it comforted her to plan things out so that she could feel like she had some sort of control. But recently she’d started to feel like everything was way out of her grasp.

She peaked her head around the corner and looked at the booth again, but nothing had changed. Yondu was cutting something on his plate and Peter drank from his glass. The sight of him doing so sparked an idea in Arienne’s mind though—if she could get him to drink enough, he’d surely be forced to use the bathroom. 

It was perhaps not the most bulletproof plan, but it was all Arienne could come up with. So she snuck up to the bar and felt thankful for that Peter was sitting with his back turned in her direction. She ordered a large, fizzy, cold drink that resembled the taste of Terran soda and asked the bartender to give it to Peter and say that it was on the house. The Trafuan looked at her skeptically and so she sighed and transferred them some extra units, which made them agree.

Then she went into the bathroom and entered a stall. In that way, she’d know when Peter came in there right away. Arienne sat there for what felt like over half an hour before the door to the bathroom finally opened and someone entered. All she could see was the person’s feet, but from what she remembered, it was indeed Peter’s dark coloured boots. In confirmation, she heard him whistle the refrain to  _ The Piña Colada Song _ as he entered a stall.

Arienne realised that this was her chance and so she left the bathroom and walked over to the booth where Yondu was still sitting. She pulled out a knife from a pocket and before he had a chance to register what was going on, she jumped on him and put her left hand over his mouth while pressing the knife to his throat with her right hand.

Yondu’s eyes widened in surprise and Arienne stared into them with pure hatred as she said, “Think you killed everyone aboard that ship? Think again.”

Then she felt him knee her in her stomach, making her wince and lose hold of him. This led to him pushing her out of the booth and standing up. She lost her balance but didn’t fall to the ground. Instead she immediately lunged at him, not wanting to give him too much time to recover, as he’d probably just use that arrow that Peter had told her about. 

She aimed her knife at his chest, but he jumped to the side just in time so that she stabbed his upper arm instead. He grunted in pain, and the creatures in the bar gasped and cried out in shock, but nobody tried to stop her. Arienne gave him no chance to recover before she charged at him again. However, this time he was more prepared and grabbed a chair from beside him, holding it up in front of him as a shield. 

Arienne tucked away her knife and quickly got up on a table. Before Yondu had a chance to understand what she was going to do, she jumped from it and crashed into him from above. He dropped the chair and lost his balance as she kicked him in his chest midair. Once she landed, she forcefully pushed him backwards, making him fall down on the floor. She sat down on him with a knee pressed into his chest and once again clasped his mouth shut with a hand.

She was just about to pull out her knife again when someone loudly said, “What the actual fuck.”

Peter’s voice made her look up and she saw him standing just outside the bathroom with a facial expression of surprise mixed with disbelief.

Yondu took advantage of this distraction and shoved Arienne off of him, causing her to fall to the floor. They both quickly got up on their feet though, and she ducked as she saw Yondu’s fist flying out towards her face. He missed her completely, and she instead punched him hard in his jaw as she straightened up. 

Then Peter unfroze and said, “Woah, woah, woah,” as he rushed over to them to break the fight up. “Arienne, stop, damn it,” he said and pulled her away from Yondu. She protested against his firm grip, but he was stronger than her and the way he held her made it impossible for her to move her arms.

“You know this girl?” Yondu asked him furiously and wiped away some blood from his mouth.

“Uh, yeah, sort of,” Peter replied in a strained tone as he tried to keep Arienne from escaping his grip on her.

“She’s one of them hunters isn’t she?” He practically spit out the words and then clenched his upper arm where Arienne had stabbed him.

“Yes, I am,” Arienne angrily said, “And you’ll soon be very sorry you ever stepped foot on my ship!”

“Is that right?” He asked tauntingly, realising that he had the upper hand now. “I think you’re gonna regret not runnin’ away when you had the chance.” Once he finished the sentence he began whistling so that his Yaka Arrow appeared in front of them, hovering in the air.

“No, no, wait,” Peter protested with a panicky voice, “How about we all just take a deep breath and decide on not killing each other today?”

Yondu narrowed his eyes at Peter and grabbed the arrow and stopped whistling. “Why you protectin’ her?”

Peter was silent for a moment before he blurted out, “Because I love her.”

Arienne didn’t know whether she or Yondu looked the most surprised by this statement, but she stopped struggling against his hold of her, while the latter loudly huffed at his words. Peter kicked her ankle gently as if to signify that she should play along, and so she forced an exaggerated smile on her lips.

Yondu didn’t seem to either buy it or care though, because he said, “Nobody who tries killin’ me gets away alive.”

“Can’t you just make an exception this once?” Peter asked.

“Nah.”

“Come on, man,” he argued, “She’s been through a lot lately. You wiped out her entire crew.”

“And yet she came to me for more,” Yondu said and stared at Arienne, challenging her.

She had to bite her inner cheek to keep quiet during this whole conversation. Because she knew that if she opened her mouth, she’d just something that would anger Yondu even further. Nothing had gone how she’d expected it to and at this point she was very unsure of whether she would even make it out of there alive. 

“Okay, listen, if you just pretend that this never happened, I’ll do the heist,” Peter bargained. When Yondu still looked unconvinced, he added with a sigh, “And you get all the units.”

At the mention of money, the Ravager leader’s interest peaked. “She really means that much to you, huh?”

She felt Peter nod behind her and she couldn’t believe that this seemed to be working. 

Yondu huffed again. “You’re a fool, boy, I hope you know that.”

“Send me the details,” Peter merely responded before he turned around together with Arienne and lightly pushed her ahead of him, urging her to get out of the bar. 

“Oh, I will,” Yondu replied before Peter and Arienne exited the place and got out on the street.

She expected Peter to begin screaming at her or to at least tell her off for what she’d just done, but all he did was to give her an angry and disappointed look before he marched off in the direction of the Milano. Arienne followed him, staying a little behind, as they walked through the rainy night in complete silence. 


	12. Let’s Just Do It

Once they were back inside the Milano, Arienne couldn’t take the silence anymore. Her emotions were a tangled mess, and she felt both angry with the fact that she hadn’t killed Yondu, and guilty for what she had put Peter through. But there was also some self-hatred as she realised that he’d now saved her life twice which made her feel pathetic. Arienne had always taken pride in her independence and survival skills, but in the matter of a few days she would’ve been dead twice already if Peter hadn’t been there to save her life. Although, if she had never met him in the first place, she wouldn’t have had the two near death experiences.

She sighed in frustration and said the first thing that came to mind, unable to keep all of her feelings inside of her for any longer, “You shouldn’t have interfered.” It came out way more harsh and accusing than she’d intended on, and she cringed as she heard her own voice.

Peter had been walking to some other area of the ship, but now he halted and slowly spun around to face her. He furrowed his brows and angrily responded, “Oh yeah? Well excuse me for stopping you from murdering someone _and_ saving your life once again.” Not even when he was mad could he drop the sarcasm.

“I had it under control!” Arienne practically shouted at him.

He merely stared at her for a few seconds before he responded, “I can’t believe that you lied to me, went behind my back, tried to kill Yondu, and now you’re standing here and screaming at me for stopping you?” He paused dramatically before he continued, “Wait, _I can_. Because that’s just the type of shit you do, isn’t it?”

Arienne swallowed and felt her anger ebb away, quickly being replaced with hurt and guilt. Everything he’d said was true and she knew it too well. She could feel her eyes burn, being on the verge of tears, but she blinked them away, refusing to look so utterly pathetic in front of him. Again.

“I had to get revenge,” she slowly said, trying to explain herself. “He took everything from me. My friends, my home, my job. And I’m sorry for lying to you, but you would’ve never let me do it if I told you.”

He stared at her for a while and his facial expression changed from rage to a conflicting one of irritation mixed with compassion. “That doesn’t make it right,” he eventually said, “I can’t trust you if you keep pulling stunts like this.”

Now it was Arienne’s turn to be silent as she carefully considered her next words. She took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Yeah right,” Peter said sarcastically and shook his head at her.

Arienne understood that she’d gone too far. She’d been so caught up with her urge to avenge Stralla and her crew that she hadn’t really stopped and considered the damage it would do to her relationship with Peter. They had just started to build some sort of bond and then she’d betrayed him and ripped it to shreds.

She closed her eyes momentarily and decided that the only way for him to even consider wanting her in his life after what she’d done, was to open up herself and show him a vulnerable side of herself. If he still refused to forgive her, there was no use in her sticking around anymore.

So Arienne took a deep breath and locked eyes with him. Then she said, “All my life I’ve lost things, over and over again. And nobody has ever been there for me to help me make it right. I’ve just had to constantly accept that I got the short straw in life and move on. But then I found something close to a family when Stralla took me under her wing.” Her voice weakened as she reached the end of the sentence.

She had more to say, but couldn’t stop her tears from spilling as she continued, “Then Yondu took that away from me and I refused to accept it. I didn’t want to believe that I had no choice but to swallow whatever came my way yet another time. For once I felt like I had the chance to fight back, to hurt those who’d hurt me.”

Arienne wiped away her tears, but it was of no use as they just kept streaming down her cheeks, making her feel worthless and weak. She looked down at the ground and swallowed, dreading his response.

Only a moment passed before Peter walked over to her so that they were standing within arm’s reach to each other. “Hey, don’t cry,” he gently said and carefully wiped away her tears with his fingers.

She gazed up at him as she felt his hand lightly graze her cheeks. The considerate act surprised her, but she didn’t mind his touch.

He removed his hand and smiled a little. “Honestly, I should’ve seen it coming,” he said and chuckled a little, “It’s not like you were being subtle about it.”

Arienne playfully slapped his arm and returned his smile. “You’re too naive for your own good,” she replied.

“Sorry for trying to believe in the best of people,” he said sarcastically.

“Look where it got you,” she teased.

Even though the now familiar and comforting banter between them was back, Arienne was still crying silently. She didn’t know if it was because she was sad or relieved, or perhaps a mix of both, but she couldn’t seem to stop. Years worth of suffering was crashing down on her hard and the tears were a way for her to let it all out, to deal with her pain.

Peter wiped away some more of her tears and tried to comfort her, saying, “Arienne, it’s okay. You’re not alone now.”

His words hit something deep inside of her and she felt herself reaching out for him, leaning her head against his chest and wrapping her arms around him. It didn’t take long before he returned the embrace with both arms, pulling her close to him. He stroked her hair slowly as they hugged each other, and the repeated motion calmed her down. She focused on the sound of his steady heartbeat and the warmth of his body, feeling her tears slow down and thin out.

“Thank you,” she mumbled against his chest. She didn’t exactly want to let him go, but the longer they stood there with their arms around each other, the more conscious she felt of the situation. Besides, she wasn’t crying anymore and felt a little better, so she she pulled away from him and took a step back.

“Feel better?” He asked.

She nodded a little. “Yeah.”

“I tend to have that effect on women,” he confidently said and winked.

Arienne snorted and rolled her eyes at him. “What a way to ruin the moment.”

“The moment? There was a moment?” He asked and genuinely looked confused.

She smiled at him and then patted his chest a couple of times before she walked away, saying, “Nevermind.”

He went after her into the kitchen area and leaned against a wall as he watched her wash her face with some cold water and then dry herself with a towel.

“So what do we do now?” Arienne asked once she had wiped her face.

Peter seemed to think about it for a second and grimaced as he realised something. He groaned and then said, “Well, I have to get that damn artefact for Yondu.”

Even though he made it sound as if she was supposed to know what he was talking about, it didn’t ring a bell with Arienne.

So she raised her brows a little and responded, “Oh?”

“The deal I made so that he wouldn’t kill you, remember?” He asked and smiled teasingly.

“Right…” She slowly said and pressed her lips together before adding, “How could I forget?”

“I can’t believe I said I’d do it for free,” he complained and leaned his head back against the wall, closed his eyes, and looked as if he was experiencing tremendous pain.

“It warms my heart to hear you having second-thoughts about saving me,” Arienne said.

“Shut up,” he replied and tilted his head back up and opened his eyes. “Yondu’s missions are always a pain in the ass and to do one without getting paid isn’t exactly a dream come true.”

“Boo-hoo, stop whining,” she taunted, “I’m sure it’s not even half as bad as you make it seem.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re not the one who’s gonna have to do…” Peter trailed off and looked like he’d just won a million dollars at a lottery. He gazed at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes and said, “Actually, it would make a lot of sense for you to come with.”

Arienne blinked at him, but realised that he was right. In a way, she was the one responsible for the deal he’d made with Yondu, making it logical that she’d have to help Peter in completing the mission. However, she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of her, so she merely smiled and said, “I thought that was a given.”

“Mhm,” he replied, evidently not believing her.

“Just to be clear, we’re supposed to illegally steal something?” She asked.

“Yup, in true Ravager spirit,” Peter replied.

She frowned and didn’t like the sound of it, but only said, “Right.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Didn’t know you were such an angel.”

“Straight up stealing items has never been my thing,” she said and crossed her arms.

“But kidnapping is alright in your book?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “You weren’t exactly an innocent bystander.”

“So you’re telling me you’re like Batman?” He grinned.

Arienne chuckled a little. “Not exactly the words I’d use, but yeah, I’ve never broken any laws without a valid justification.”

Peter huffed. “Well, is ‘Yondu will be after both of our asses if we don’t get him that artefact’ enough of a _valid justification_ for you?” He joked, mocking her words.

She grabbed the towel she’d used before and formed it into a ball which she threw at Peter. He saw it coming however, and gracefully caught it with one hand.

“Let’s just do it,” she said, “Do you have the details of the heist?”

He threw the towel back at her which she caught without even looking in its direction. She put it away as he answered, “He’s probably sent them to me. We can check.”

Arienne nodded at him, so he straightened up and they walked over to the table with the tablet on it. She watched him open up a message from Yondu and they both read its brief contents in silence.

_Planet: Sakaar_

_Item: Freeze Stick_

_Owner: “Grandmaster”_

The message had one image attached to each of the three mentioned aspects. The first one depicted a grey and teal coloured planet with a surface that looked rough and uneven. The item was a silver rod with a frost blue snowflake attached to the top of it. Arienne didn’t know what it was, but she assumed that it was some kind of valuable treasure. The last picture was a professionally taken headshot of a middle aged man with grey hair, dark eyes, and a stripe of blue going from his lower lip to his chin. He was smiling and posing at the camera and was wearing some kind of golden, blue, and red shirt, but the picture didn’t show much of his outfit.

“Sakaar,” Arienne said, letting the name roll off her tongue, “Doesn’t sound familiar.”

“Not to me either,” Peter replied.

“This Grandmaster guy must be famous there or something though,” she reasoned, thinking of how stylised the photo of him looked.

Peter nodded. “Wouldn’t surprise me if he’s their President and Yondu wants us to steal his favourite item,” he joked.

Arienne pressed her lips together and hoped that he was wrong. She wanted this to go swiftly and to be done in just a few hours, but if the owner was famous this heist could need thorough planning and take a while.

“We’ll find out, I guess,” she said and turned away from the tablet. “And the sooner, the better.”

“Sure, let’s go,” he replied and they began walking over to the pilot seats. “Can you map the way there on your tablet?” He asked her as he sat down in the pilot seat.

“Yeah,” Arienne replied and fished out her tablet and entered the map application. She typed in the route to Sakaar and furrowed her brows at the information the program showed her. She placed it near the controls so that Peter could see it as well, and then she sat down in the seat next to his.

“The only way there seems to be through a wormhole,” she said, still looking at the screen with a concerned expression.

“You mean a jump? That’s fine, I’ve gone through plenty of those before,” Peter casually said as he took off with the Milano.

“No shit,” Arienne impatiently said as Peter had missed her point completely. “I mean that the only way to enter Sakaar’s atmosphere appears to be by literally jumping right into it.”

“Yeah, alright,” he replied and didn’t seem to either care or share Arienne’s worry.

“Wormholes open and close all the time,” she explained, “And I don’t know what kind of place Sakaar is, but I don’t like the idea of us getting trapped there with no way to escape.”

“Stop being so pessimistic,” he said, “You said it yourself, they open and close all the time. So I’m sure that there’ll be another one that we can go through once we’re leaving.”

“That’d be convenient,” she said, not feeling reassured by his words at all. She already had a bad feeling about this mission, and the whole thing about the wormholes didn’t exactly help. However, she didn’t want to let her thoughts spiral and so she tried to take control of the situation.

“Do we even have a plan?” Arienne asked as they left Trafua’s atmosphere.

“Uh,” Peter replied, drawing out the sound. “I’m thinking we just go to Sakaar and then take it from there.”

Arienne merely looked at him in disbelief for a few seconds before she said, “That’s a terrible idea.”

“It’s what I usually do and it’s been working out so far.”

She huffed a little. “It’s a miracle that you’ve stayed alive for this long.”

He rolled his eyes. “You worry too much.”

Arienne decided that if she wanted a plan, she’d have to make one herself. So she said, “I’ll go do some research then. You just focus on getting us there.”

“Yes, boss,” he answered and grinned.

She got out of the seat and began walking back to the table with the tablet, but Peter interrupted her on her way there, “Hey, mind putting on some music? This is gonna take a while.”

“You have a radio on here?” She asked.

“Yeah, well, a tape deck over by the sofa. Built it myself,” he proudly said.

“Huh,” Arienne replied and then walked over to said object and inspected it. She didn’t see any tapes laying around though, so she wondered if he’d really built this whole thing just to play his one mixtape on. Nevertheless, she fetched the _AWESOME MIX VOL. 1_ from where it laid on her bunk and inserted it into the tape deck.

The song _Spirit in the Sky_ started playing and Peter began humming along. Arienne smiled a little as she walked over to the table with the tablet, feeling ready to prepare herself for what was coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! As always, hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for all the hits and kudos :)
> 
> Couldn't resist to add Sakaar and the Grandmaster in this story as Thor Ragnarok is one of my favourite MCU movies, haha. You'll definitely see more of the planet and him in the upcoming chapters, and perhaps some lovable characters from that place will show up as well ;)


	13. I'm Intrigued

Even though Peter and Arienne took the quickest route to the wormhole leading to Sakaar, the journey lasted for several hours. During that time they took turns steering so that they both could nap for a while. Arienne spent some time researching the planet on Peter’s tablet as well, and she had come up with a plan based on what she’d found out.

Since she felt satisfied enough with it, she decided to tell Peter about it, so she went over to the pilot seats and sat down next to him. She glanced at her tablet which showed them the way, and according to it, they were very close to the wormhole now. 

“I found out some stuff,” Arienne started, to which Peter nodded, “Sakaar is an artificial planet made out of trash, and apparently it’s the Grandmaster who’s the founder of it. So he’s basically the ruler of it and he seems pretty barbaric. Like, he regularly hosts some kind of gladiator event where two creatures fight each other while a public watches. Couldn’t find anything about the Freeze Stick, though,” she explained.

“I’m intrigued,” he replied and grinned. “You really did your homework, huh?” 

Arienne smiled. “I like to be prepared.”

He chuckled. “No kidding.”

“Anyway,” Arienne said, “My plan is that we act as if we’re tourists who want to watch a gladiator event. The Grandmaster personally attends every single one so we should get a chance to meet him and then we’ll have to find out more about the Stick.”

“Sounds good,” Peter said, “But I’m telling you, you worry too much. You’re with me and everything’s gonna be fine.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “That’s comforting,” she ironically said, “You’ve just been lucky so far. What if your luck runs out on Sakaar?”

“Hey,” he argued, “I feel like you’re underestimating me now. I’m at least eighty percent skill and maybe twenty percent luck.”

Arienne chuckled a little. “Switch those two around and it’ll be more accurate.”

He reached out and slapped her arm playfully. “Would it hurt to be nice for once?”

“Keep dreaming,” she said and smiled. She gazed out through the window and saw that they were approaching the wormhole. They entered it and within seconds they were warped right into Sakaar’s atmosphere.

Peter slowed down the ship and the two of them gazed out at the seemingly endless landscape of waste around them. There were huge mountains and islands of trash everywhere and as they flew by, more rubbish kept pouring in from other wormholes.

“So this is where all my missing socks go,” Peter commented as they looked at the scenery, making Arienne laugh.

The wasteland of junk stretched on for countless miles, but eventually they spotted the contours of tall buildings on the horizon and as they neared it they found themselves in a chaotic metropolis. The city was quite the contrast to the trash desert that they’d been in before with its red, green and grey skyscrapers, traffic, and inhabitants filling the streets.

Peter found a spot to land and park the Milano in, and he and Arienne gathered their weapons and supplies as they prepared to leave the ship. She decided to bring both her gun and knife, and Peter took his beloved blasters.

“All set?” He asked her once he was done.

She looked him over from top to toe and then grimaced a little. “I’d reconsider the jacket. It screams Ravager,” she commented.

He looked very offended by her remark and glanced down at himself. “How dare you?” He asked and clasped his chest dramatically.

Arienne rolled her eyes, but smiled a little. “I’m just thinking that it’d be a shame to get caught before we even introduce ourselves.”

He sighed loudly, but shrugged the jacket off, revealing a dark grey short sleeved t-shirt underneath. “I hate it when you’re right,” he said.

“You should be used to it by now,” Arienne replied and smirked.

“Mhm,” he said and grinned. “But don’t think that I don’t know the real reason for why you wanted me to take it off.”

She looked at him with an amused smile playing on her lips. “Which is what exactly?”

“You just want a better look at these,” he cockily said and flexed his biceps while raising his eyebrows up and down a couple of times.

Arienne laughed and shook her head slowly. “Oh please,” she answered as she turned around and headed for the exit.

“You know it’s true,” he said and nudged her side as she opened the door.

“You wish it was,” she retorted and elbowed his side as well.

They left the ship and even though the atmosphere was breathable, it didn’t really feel like it. The air was far from as clean and refreshing as it had been on Trafua and it took Arienne a minute to adjust to the bad quality of it. But they were in the middle of a large city located on a planet made out of trash after all, so she supposed that it was to be expected.

“I need some kind of disguise,” Peter said as they walked down a crowded street.

“What for? We’re supposed to be tourists,” Arienne responded.

“What kind of tourist has a couple of blasters casually hanging on his belt?” He said and patted said items to demonstrate his point.

She smiled and nodded, thinking that he for once had a valid argument. “Not the friendly kind,” she said and scanned the store fronts that they walked by. “Let’s head in there then,” she added once she saw a clothing shop.

They went inside and looked around at the various clothes that the store sold. It offered everything from plain, natural coloured pieces to neon once that glowed in the dark. Peter found a long, dark brown coat that had plenty of room for hiding things inside of it which he purchased. Arienne also bought something, which was a military green, thin jacket with a hood. She figured that it’d be more practical to keep her gun there instead of in a pocket on her pants, and besides, she badly needed some new clothes.

After they’d both paid and put on their new pieces, they asked the cashier for directions to the Sakaaran Arena, before they went out on the street again. They began walking towards it and Arienne paid attention to the creatures that roamed the streets. Very few looked alike and she couldn’t determine if there was such a thing as a native species on Sakaar. It seemed like creatures had come here from various corners of the universe, but she couldn’t possibly understand why this place attracted them.

“We should have undercover names,” Peter randomly said.

“Any suggestions?” She asked, curious of what he had in mind.

“Han Solo and Leia Organa,” he immediately responded, evidently having thought about this. 

Arienne laughed a little, but liked his idea. Nobody here would know any Terran pop culture references so the two of them could have some harmless fun with them.

“For once you have a good idea,” she said and smiled.

He chuckled and shrugged. “I have my moments.”

Arienne hummed and Peter gave her a pleased smile.

The two of them continued their familiar banter as they walked to the Arena. On their way there, they saw several large, flashing advertisements informing everyone about the next ‘Contest of Champions’ which was tomorrow between the two fighters Man-Thing and Skull-Stone. The former was a large, greenish beast with red eyes and three tentacles hanging from its face. Skull-Stone’s body looked like it was made out of some kind of black smoke and its head was an aged skull that resembled a bull’s.

Arienne didn’t like the digital posters and shuddered at the thought of becoming one of the Champions on Sakaar, but Peter seemed to only get more and more excited with each one they passed.

As they arrived by the huge, circular shaped arena, they saw that there was a smaller building next to it with letters spelling out INFO/TICKETS above it. Arienne and Peter went inside and walked up to a desk where an orange, insect-looking creature with many large, black eyes stood.

“Greetings,” it said to them, “What do you want?”

“We’d like to buy two tickets for tomorrow’s fight,” Arienne answered and smiled at it, despite how rude its tone had been.

The creature made some sort of drawn-out clicking noises and then said, “They’re sold out.”

“Come on,” Peter said, “I’m sure there’s enough room for us. We traveled all the way from Terra for this.”

The insect-looking thing made those clicking noises again and Arienne felt uncomfortable. “No more tickets,” it said, “You’re too late.”

She sighed. “Look, we  _ really  _ want to be there,” she said and fished out her tablet and tapped in a generous amount of units on her screen before sliding it over the desk so that the creature could see. 

It stared at the screen with its many eyes and its attention perked at the sight of the four figures in front of it. It made some more of those clicking noises, however they were more fast-paced and sounded more cheerful this time. “I think I can fit you in,” it said and grimaced in a way that Arienne assumed was a smile.

Arienne nodded at it and returned the smile. The creature then crouched down and crawled to the back of the room where it rummaged through some things before it returned to them and straightened up again. It handed over two tickets to Arienne and said, “It’s exclusive ones. You have access to the Grandmaster’s party tonight.”

The insect-looking thing was being a lot more helpful now, but it didn’t surprise Arienne as she knew that money usually had that effect. So it was a good thing that she had quite a lot of units in her account thanks to her previous job as a hunter.

She transferred the units to the creature and put away her tablet. “Thanks,” she told it.

“No, thank  _ you _ ,” it said in an excited voice and made more happy clicking noises.

“Let’s go,” Arienne said to Peter and nudged him.

They left the building and once they were outside, Peter said, “Good work.”

“You owe me one,” she responded.

He chuckled. “I really don’t.”

She rolled her eyes. “What will it take for us to be even then?”

He thought about it for a moment, but only said, “I’ll think about it.”

Arienne didn’t like his mysterious tone and the mischievous look on his face and so she responded, “Now don’t get any ideas. Me helping you with this whole heist should be more than enough.”

“Oh, no, no,” he said, “This covers what you did back on Trafua. There’s still all the shit before that.”

“You’re such a resentful dick,” Arienne said and smiled a little.

“That’s a new one,” he responded and grinned.

She playfully slapped his arm and then inspected the tickets they’d bought. Just like the creature had told them, the word ‘exclusive’ was written on it along with the text  _ Congratulations, feel honoured for that you’re allowed to attend my fabulous party. Come as you are and we’ll take care of you.  _ It was signed by none other than the Grandmaster and there was even a small photograph of him attached along with the address.

Arienne huffed. “Can’t wait to meet this guy,” she said sarcastically.

Peter also read the text and chuckled. “Yeah, he seems pretty full of himself.”

As it was still only afternoon, they had some time to kill before the party. So they grabbed a bite to eat, looked at random things in stores, and just strode around the streets of Sakaar. Before they knew it, it had gotten dark and so they headed over to the building where the party was being held.

There were four guards who stood by the entrance of a tall skyscraper, checking tickets and letting guests in one by one through four different doors. Arienne and Peter placed themselves in line and soon enough Arienne was allowed in. She left Peter behind and entered the building through one of the doors and found herself in a room full of shelves and hangers with clothes on them. She was alone in there apart from a smiling pink-skinned woman who was wearing a little blue dress.

“Welcome,” she said, “Please undress and let me pick an outfit for you.”

“Oh,” Arienne responded and smiled, “Thank you, but I’m fine.”

The woman tilted her head a little and said, “It’s the Grandmaster’s orders.”

“Of course, my apologies” Arienne quickly replied as she figured that it was best not to question this and draw attention to herself. Instead, she took off her clothes and gave them to the woman who bowed a little once she held them. She thought all of this was rather strange, but didn’t let her feelings show.

The pink-skinned woman took a moment to scan Arienne from top to toe and she felt a bit exposed from her gaze. “I know just the dress for you,” the woman told her and fetched a long, emerald green, sparkling dress from a hanger.

She gave it to Arienne and she couldn’t help but grimace a little at the sight of it. This was not exactly her preferred type of clothing, but she thanked the woman and put it on nevertheless. It had a low-cut, v neckline and the silky material hugged her waist and hips, but it was looser below her knees and it ended at her feet. 

“Beautiful,” the woman complimented her and then added, “Take these too,” and held out a pair of black high heels and heavy, onyx earrings. 

“Thank you,” Arienne said and put on the shoes and jewelry, feeling more and more uncomfortable. She was about to ask if she could go to the party now, but the woman spoke again.

“Now it’s just hair and face,” she said and gestured for Arienne to sit down on a stool.

Arienne smiled a little and sat down, but even though she complied, she didn’t like this at all. She felt as if she was a pet who was getting ready for its next show. Yet she kept quiet as the woman put her black hair up in a very tight ponytail, applied a glittery powder on her eyelids and above her cheekbones, coated her lashes with something wet and sticky, and put on a dark red product on her lips.

The pink-skinned woman backed away a few steps and admired her work with a satisfied smile. She nodded and said, “All done. The Grandmaster will be very pleased.”

The comment disturbed Arienne, but she only smiled a little and once again said, “Thank you.”

She stood up and was lead to a door opposite of the one she’d entered from. Arienne wondered how this night would turn out and whether she and Peter would get a chance to steal the Freeze Stick. Although, she didn’t have her weapons anymore and assumed that Peter was in a similar situation, and besides, this place seemed heavily guarded. So she figured that they would probably not be able to take the Stick tonight, but they could at least hopefully get a look at it and meet the Grandmaster, and then this party wouldn’t be a complete waste of time.

She took a deep breath, said goodbye to the woman, and opened the door, bracing herself for what the evening had in store for her.


	14. There’s Someone Else on Your Mind

Arienne was met with flashing, colourful lights and hectic electronic music as she entered the room. There were loads of creatures in there, but the space itself was huge and so it didn’t feel crowded. Everyone were either dancing, drinking or chatting with each other and they all wore glittering, shiny clothes.

As she stood and took in the scenery, a servant carrying a tray filled with conical glasses containing some sort of sparkling beverage approached her and offered her a drink. She politely declined though, since she never drank when she was on a mission.

Instead she decided that she’d look for Peter and so she walked around the room, trying her best to balance herself in the heels and tight dress. She couldn’t find him, but then someone touched her arm and she was sure of that it was him so she turned around with a relieved look on her face.

However, the man in front of her was no one other than the Grandmaster himself. He looked just like on the pictures she’d seen of him, but now he had a golden stripe on his chin and he wore white and golden robes.

His eyes traveled up and down her body and lingered on her chest for a moment before he looked into her eyes. He smirked and said, “You’re looking incredibly stunning in that dress, darling.”

“Oh, thank you,” she said and smiled, playing shy while she was in reality disgusted by him.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here before…” He said and left the sentence unfinished as if waiting for her to complete it.

“I’ve come here all the way from Terra to see the Champions fight tomorrow,” she responded.

He nodded and looked impressed. “That’s quite the journey for a pretty lady like yourself.” He put his hand on her arm and added, “Do you have someone who can take care of you while you’re here?”

Arienne batted her lashes and smiled, deciding to be flirty even though she was uncomfortable. She was just about to reply when someone else walked up next to her and put their hand on her bare back.

She looked to her left and saw Peter standing there, wearing a black, sparkling short-sleeved t-shirt and black pants. He had glitter on his cheeks like Arienne, but his eyes were lined with black unlike hers.

“She has me,” he answered and stared into the Grandmaster’s dark eyes.

She felt thankful for his presence and leaned into his touch, but she didn’t want the Grandmaster to think she wasn’t interested in him anymore, so she let him keep his hand on her arm.

The Grandmaster hummed and looked amused. “And you are?” He asked Peter.

“Han Solo,” Peter confidently replied and Arienne had to focus all her energy on not bursting out in laughter. “From Terra.”

“Never heard of that place before, but if everyone there looks even half as good as the two of you it might be worth a visit,” the Grandmaster replied and winked at them.

Arienne chuckled a little, earning a pleased look from the Grandmaster, but Peter didn’t look amused at all.

“You’re so generous for throwing this great party,” she said and smiled sweetly.

“Thank you, thank you,” he replied and took a sip from a drink that he held. “Now enjoy yourselves and feel free to spend the night here. Just ask a servant for a room.”

She and Peter thanked him and the Grandmaster raised his glass at them and began walking away. Before he made it very far however, he leaned in and whispered in Arienne’s right ear, “If you get tired of him, my chamber is always open.” He didn’t wait for a response before he strode away and disappeared into the crowd.

Peter removed his arm from Arienne’s back and took a few steps so that he stood in front of her. He frowned at her and asked, “What did he say?”

“That he’d like to sleep with me, basically,” she replied and chuckled.

He huffed. “What a creep.”

“Yeah, but I might accept his offer…” Arienne said slowly, already coming up with a plan in her head. If the Grandmaster kept the Freeze Stick in his bedroom, she’d surely have a chance to steal it if she got in there. However, there was no way she was entering his chamber before she was absolutely certain of that he kept the Stick there.

“Didn’t think he was your type,” Peter said and had a strange expression on his face that Arienne hadn’t seen on him before.

She rolled her eyes. “It would be for business, not pleasure,” she said.

“You shouldn’t have to do that,” he argued, “We’ll come up with a better plan.”

“Look at you being a gentleman all of a sudden,” Arienne teased, “I thought you wouldn’t have anything against letting me take a hit. Why the change of heart?”

Peter was quiet for some time and looked like he considered what to say next. “We gotta look out for each other is all,” he eventually said and smiled.

“How sweet,” she replied and chuckled. “Well, now we’ve at least met the Grandmaster. But I’m not sure if there’s anything else we can do here."

“Then how about we just have a good time?” He proposed and raised his brows while smiling.

Arienne considered this and weighed the risks and the benefits. She couldn’t exactly come up with any arguments for why they wouldn’t be able to stay though and so she smiled at Peter and said, “Yeah, why not. I could use a break from reality.”

He looked excited at her response and exclaimed, “That’s the spirit!” Then he grabbed two drinks from the tray of a passing servant. He held one out for Arienne and she took it, thinking that she could treat herself to a drink or two since the mission was on hold for the night.

“Cheers,” he said and clinked his glass with hers. They both took a sip and Arienne liked the taste of it. It was rather sweet and left an aftertaste of mint and cucumber.

Peter drank his entire glass in one sweep and caught another bypassing servant so that he could get another one. Arienne sipped from her drink and looked amused as Peter downed another beverage.

She raised her brows at him. “Should I be concerned?” She jokingly asked.

He swatted her away with one hand. “I can handle my liquor.”

Arienne hummed and said, “Especially when you don’t even know what it is.”

“Oh, stop worrying,” he responded and then grabbed her hand. “Let’s go dance.”

She looked uncertain at this idea, but saw how excited he looked and didn’t want to kill his fun. So she smiled and replied, “Sure.”

Peter led her to another room where a DJ was standing on a scene and a bunch of people were dancing in front of it. He grabbed another drink from a servant’s tray on their way there and had already finished it as they entered the dance floor. Meanwhile, Arienne had just emptied her first glass.

Just like when she had entered the party, fast-paced electronic music was being played. The people on the dance floor were swaying to the music with their hands in the air and all of them were smiling and looked happy to be there. Arienne liked the atmosphere and smiled as she gazed at the seemingly content creatures. She put her hands up and moved to the music like the rest of them, and Peter did the same.

Even though the dress and shoes weren’t the most comfortable attire, Arienne found herself enjoying being there. She even closed her eyes briefly from time to time and fully lived in the moment.

After a few songs, Peter put a hand on her shoulder and leaned in to shout in her ear, “Never seen you this happy before.”

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “You haven’t known me that long,” she shouted back.

“Yeah, but it’s nice to see you enjoy yourself for once,” he said and grinned sheepishly.

Arienne playfully slapped his arm and said, “Can you go get us another drink?”

“Sure can,” he replied and disappeared in the crowd with a pleased look on his face.

Almost immediately after he left, two blue-skinned creatures got eye contact with her and began dancing close to her. She didn’t mind this though, and instead smiled at them as she kept swaying to the music.

Peter shortly returned with two glasses in his hands and handed one to Arienne. “I dare you to chug it,” he said and smirked.

“Challenge accepted,” Arienne replied and clinked her glass with his.

They both downed the entire contents at once and Arienne even finished hers before Peter did. He exclaimed, “Woo!” once he’d emptied his, which made her laugh.

She and Peter danced with the two strangers that had approached Arienne for what felt like hours. Occasionally they took breaks and got more drinks, and after Arienne’s fourth one she was certainly feeling their effects. She was finding it a bit hard to keep her balance and had to focus immensely at one task at the time in order to understand what was going on. Peter was also pretty out of it, although he had had several more drinks than her after all.

Arienne’s feet hurt and she was tired from constantly moving, so she signalled to Peter to leave the room. They did so, but somewhere along the way she lost sight of him and stopped and groaned loudly as she realised this.

“Everything alright, miss?” Someone asked from beside her.

She turned to face the voice and saw that it belonged to a handsome, tall, male with dark eyes and hair. “Yeah, yeah, just lost my friend,” she answered and giggled a little.

“Do you want help to—” the stranger was interrupted as someone backed into Arienne and shoved her right into the man’s chest.

She put her hands against his torso and he helped her regain her balance with steady arms. Arienne looked up at him and apologised, but the stranger didn’t look bothered at all and assured her of that it was no big deal. Instead, he proposed that they could go to a more quiet place and talk. She liked his idea and let him lead her to another, smaller room where the music was quieter and there weren’t as many people.

“Much better,” the stranger said as they placed themselves near a wall. “So, where are you from?” He asked and smiled.

But Arienne didn’t register his question as she was too busy staring at Peter making out with an unfamiliar woman behind the stranger. He had her pressed against the wall and it looked very passionate. For some reason Arienne felt desire run through her and a sting of pain as she realised that it wasn’t her against the wall. However, the feelings only lasted for a fleeting second and she rid herself off them immediately. It was surely the alcohol that made her think and feel such unreasonable things.

The stranger gently put a hand on Arienne’s arm and said, “Are you okay? I feel like I lost you.”

She shifted her focus to him and smiled apologetically as she realised that he must’ve asked her the same question at least a couple of times now. “Uhm,” she replied and glanced at Peter and the woman again. Then she met the stranger’s eyes and confidently said, “Wanna get out of here?”

He smiled at her but looked a little concerned. “Sure.”

They left the room and Arienne caught a servant on their way out. She remembered that the Grandmaster had told her that if she wanted a room, she only needed to ask, and so that’s what she would do.

She asked them for a room and the servant nodded and gestured for the two of them to follow. They all went up a staircase and walked along an endless corridor until the servant stopped in front of a door with the number 57 on it. She received a card and Arienne thanked the servant before they left them.

Arienne entered with the stranger right behind her. As the door closed behind them, she turned to him and said, “What’s your name?”

“Atoc,” he replied and smiled as he asked, “And you?”

“Arienne,” she said. She felt rather bold and the male was attractive to her, so she added, “Nice to meet you, Atoc.” And as she finished the sentence she put a hand on his chest and leaned in for a kiss.

Their lips met and he gave her a few gentle kisses before pulling away. “You’re a very pretty woman, Arienne,” he said and she looked flattered. “But I can’t do this.”

Arienne stared at him in confusion. What else had he expected when she invited him into her room? Her current state of mind must’ve been clearly written on her face as Atoc continued to explain, “I just wanted to make sure you got here safe. And besides, I can tell that there’s someone else on your mind.”

She appreciated his good intentions, but frowned at the latter statement. “You’re wrong. There isn’t.”

He smiled sweetly at her and responded, “It’s clear to me, I can sense it. So I wish you all the best and it was nice meeting you.”

Arienne didn’t understand why this man was saying those weird things to her or why he was acting so strange, but she didn’t have the energy to argue or question him. Perhaps it was for the better that he was leaving so that she could get some rest.

“Okay, goodbye then,” she said unsurely.

“Goodbye,” Atoc replied and then let himself out of the room.

She chuckled out loud once he left, thinking about how absurd the situation was. Then she walked further into the room and sighed in delight as she noticed the bed. She figured that she’d only rest her feet a little and then take a shower, but as soon as she sat down on the comfortable mattress and smooth linens, she found it impossible to get back up. Arienne only managed to get her heels off before she slumped down on the bed and instantly fell asleep.


	15. Better Luck Next Time

Arienne groaned, still half asleep, as someone gently shook her arm and softly told her to wake up. Her head hurt and she was feeling nauseous, and the last thing she wanted right now was to get out of bed and start the day.

“Miss, I’m sorry but you have to wake up,” an unfamiliar voice said.

As she was reluctantly pulled from her sleep, the memories from the night before returned to her, although some parts were a bit fuzzy. She rolled over on her back and opened up her eyes, squinting at her surroundings and internally cursing the room for being so bright. She remembered that she was in one of the Grandmaster’s many guestrooms and then she looked to her side where the creature who had woken her up stood.

“Who are you?” She bluntly asked them, not having enough energy to be polite.

The yellow coloured, reptilian-looking creature patiently smiled at her and said, “I’m one of the Grandmaster’s servants. I’m here to give you a replenisher and return your belongings.”

What the creature told her didn’t sound half bad, so she tried her best to produce a smile and said, “Okay.”

“Can you sit up?” They asked her, to which Arienne answered with a grunt as she pushed herself up to a sitting position, leaning against the bed frame. She really wondered what she had drunk the night before. Arienne was pretty sure of that she had had about four or five drinks, and that was nothing new for her. Yet the hangover that she was experiencing was way worse then any of the ones she had had in her life.

“Here, drink this,” the servant said and offered her a glass containing a lime coloured liquid. “It will make you feel better.”

The drink didn’t look too appetising and Arienne wasn’t even sure that she should trust them. But at the same time, she had already consumed several beverages here on Sakaar, so how much worse could it get if she drank another one? Besides, right now she’d try almost anything to make her headache and nausea go away.

So she grabbed the glass with both hands and chugged its contents. It actually tasted quite nice despite its toxic appearance and left a refreshing aftertaste.

“Thank you,” she said once she had emptied the glass. She handed it back to the servant and asked, “What were those drinks you served at the party anyway?”

“I’m afraid that I’m not allowed to tell you. The Grandmaster likes to be mysterious.”

“Huh,” she replied and felt disturbed.

“Would you like to take a shower?” The servant asked her. 

“Sure,” she responded and figured that it was in fact a good idea. Also, to her relief, the replenisher had already started working. She was feeling a lot better now and was eager to wash the makeup off her face and put her own clothes back on.

“Great. I’ll put your things in the bathroom then,” they said and walked away to do so. Meanwhile, Arienne got out of bed and entered the bathroom just as the servant left it. 

“Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?” They asked her.

She thought about it for a moment and realised that she had no idea where Peter was. Perhaps the servant could help her with this. “I came to the party with a friend, but we lost each other at the end of the night. Perhaps he slept in another room?”

“I can check if you give me his name,” the servant offered.

“Han Solo,” she replied, hoping that Peter had remembered to use his false name even though he had been pretty wasted.

The servant nodded. “I will go see and be back in ten minutes. It would be preferable if you’re ready to leave by then as well.”

“That’s kind of you, thank you,” Arienne replied.

They smiled at her and then left the room. Arienne got in the shower and quickly rinsed herself and then put on her clothes. It was truly a relief to rid herself of the tight dress and wear her comfortable cargo pants and shirt again.

It appeared as if she had been very quick since the servant had not yet returned as she exited the bathroom. She spent some time checking if all of her possessions were still in her pockets, and realised that both her gun and knife were missing. Everything else was still with her though, so she wondered if someone had confiscated her weapons. Yet the servant hadn’t mentioned it so perhaps they had been stolen.

Her train of thought was interrupted as the servant entered the room once more. “Hello,” they greeted her. “Hope the shower was refreshing.”

“It was great, thanks,” she replied and smiled.

“Regarding your friend, Solo, he didn’t spend the night here. In fact, he was seen leaving with a woman his age. But he left a message for you.” The servant paused and Arienne nodded for them to go on. “He said, and I quote, tell her to not fucking worry and that I’ll see her tomorrow.”

Arienne had to try her hardest not to roll her eyes or sigh heavily as she heard the message. It was so typical of Peter to do something like that and she knew that she never should’ve drunken anything last night. If she would’ve been sober, she could’ve made sure that they didn’t lose each other. Now she had no idea where he was and he might as well be dead or locked up somewhere for all she knew.

She didn’t want to share her concerns with the servant, however, and thought that they had already done so much for her and been very kind. So she said, “Thank you. Then I’ll go now.”

The servant nodded and smiled, and then led her out of the room and walked with her down the long corridor. 

“By the way, I think I’ve lost a couple of items,” Arienne said, figuring that it was worth a shot to ask.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Unfortunately it happens sometimes. If you describe them to me I can do my best to get them back to you,” the servant helpfully said.

Arienne supposed that her weapons had indeed been stolen then. Or the servant was just playing clueless. She didn’t exactly want to describe potential contraband though and risk getting in trouble, so she decided to drop it. “Actually, it’s fine. They weren’t that valuable to me.”

“Alright then,” the servant replied. The two of them walked the rest of the way in silence and Arienne spotted a few other creatures that were being guided out of the building by servants, just like her. 

As they arrived at the exit, the servant said, “Thank you for attending the Grandmaster’s party. I hope you had a wonderful time and that you will be back soon.” It sounded like something they had said about a million times and was hardwired in their brain.

She smiled a little and said, “Thanks for being so kind and helpful. Goodbye.” The servant returned the smile and then she left the building.

Arienne walked down a street she and Peter had been on the day before and tried to think of what she should do next. She pulled out the tickets to the Contest of Champions and checked the time, calculating that there was about three hours left until the battle would begin. In that time she had to somehow find Peter since she needed him for this mission and he also didn’t have his ticket. However, she didn’t even know where to start looking and had no way of contacting him. She felt annoyed with him and seriously just considered doing the mission herself. 

However, the more she thought about it, the more she figured that it really wasn’t her job to find him and act like his mother. He was a grown man and should be able to take care of himself. And if he decided to think with his penis instead of his brain, then he’d have to pay the consequences. So, she concluded that if he wanted to attend the fight, then he would have to find her. What was it he had told her anyway? “To not fucking worry.” Well, then she wouldn’t.

Arienne smiled to herself, feeling pleased, and decided to instead spend the remaining time doing whatever she felt like. She walked by a cute café and went inside to try some Sakaaran delights. She bought a bag of what resembled Terran strawberries, except these were smaller and azure and bubblegum pink coloured. She ate them as she continued to explore the city, walking through smaller streets and alleys. They had a very sweet taste at first, but once she bit down on the middle they got very sour. It was exactly what she wanted and she savoured every bite.

The three hours went by awfully quickly and she spent most of the time just wandering around and being in a futuristic bookstore. She showed up at the Arena half an hour before the fight was about to start and placed herself in line. 

Arienne still had no idea where Peter was and she was starting to worry, even though she’d tried very hard not to do that very thing. There were only a few people in front of her before it was her turn to scan the tickets, so if Peter didn’t show up within the next minute, she had to do watch the fight alone and potentially do the mission herself as well.

But just as she was about to scan her ticket, an all too familiar voice called out, “Leia, wait!”

She stopped what she was doing and sighed, partly in relief and partly in annoyance. She let him catch up to her, but didn’t even look in his direction as she scanned their tickets and went inside the Arena to find their seats. Since the tickets were exclusive, they had gotten pretty good seats from high above. Arienne honestly didn’t know if that was a good thing or not since she wasn’t sure of how much details she wanted to see in the fight.

“Hey,” Peter said and tried his best to catch up with her quick pace up a flight of stairs. He touched her arm and asked, “Are you mad?”

Arienne only turned around and gave him an irritated look before she continued to focus on climbing the stairs, staring ahead of her.

“Okay, you’re mad,” Peter stated and sighed. “Will you at least tell me why?”

She rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see her do this. Then she said, clearly annoyed, “We’re on a mission together. Yet you decide to basically ditch me.”

“I never  _ ditched  _ you. I showed up, didn’t I?”

“In the very last second,” she bitterly stated.

“Yeah, but I’m here now. So let’s not dwell on the past.” Even though this was clearly a joke meant to lighten Arienne’s mood, she wasn’t having any of it.

“Where even were you?” She questioned.

“Well,” Peter started. “I got pretty wasted last night and…” He paused and seemed to think about whether he should finish that sentence or not. “Uh, I might’ve hooked up with a chick.”

“How classy,” Arienne responded and felt a sour feeling inside of her. She didn’t know exactly what it was or why she was feeling it, but there it was. “Do you even know her name?” She asked before she could stop herself. For some reason she cared about who he had slept with and felt a need to know everything.

“Yeah!” Peter exclaimed, sounding overly defensive. “Brunnhilde.”

“That sounds made up,” Arienne muttered.

“It’s not,” he argued. “But you would know all about that, wouldn’t you?” He nudged her side.

She recoiled from his touch and felt her irritation rise. She knew that she was probably acting a bit dramatic, yet she couldn’t get herself to behave normally. 

“Whatever,” she said and then sat down in her seat as they had finally arrived there. They were several floors up and sat in a glass booth with a perfect view over the Arena’s circular floor. She supposed that the contestants would soon be brought in and then fight each other until one of them was defeated in that ring.

Peter let out some air as he sat down next to her, but didn’t say anything. Probably a wise decision. Some other creatures entered the glass booth and it took some time until anything happened. Peter made some casual comments during that time, but Arienne chose to ignore him or brush him off.

Eventually, a booming voice filled the Arena and everyone quieted down. “Welcome to today’s Contest of Champions!” Arienne recognised the Grandmaster’s voice and saw him standing on a balcony, holding some sort of megaphone. “I’m assuming you’re all as excited for this fight as I am, because today’s contestants are no other than my champion Man-Thing and the scary Skull-Stone.”

The whole Arena cheered as he finished his sentence, but Arienne remained silent. The Grandmaster continued, “The loser today will receive a, hmm, chilly surprise one could say. But enough talk. Let’s bring the fighters out, so let’s hear it for Man-Thing and Skull-Stone!”

Arienne wondered what he meant by his first sentence, but didn’t have time to reflect over it as two gates opened on either side of the Arena’s walls near the ground. From the one to her left, the green monster which she recognised as Man-Thing walked out and roared, receiving loads of cheers and applause from the audience. On his opposite side, the other fighter, Skull-Stone, entered the circular building. It received cheers as well, but there was no doubt about that Man-Thing was a whole lot more popular here.

The two creatures instantly went for each other, rushing forward. Skull-Stone didn’t have a compact body and appeared to be made of some sort of smoke, floating above the ground. Man-Thing lunged for Skull-Stone, but it floated away before the beast could hit it. Its ghost-like body clearly gave it an advantage as it could escape Man-Thing’s clumsy and slow movements.

The audience booed, but then cried out in surprise as Skull-Stone went behind Man-Thing and floated to his head. Two tentacles made of smoke latched onto the green beast and he roared in pain. Perhaps the mist was toxic or something. Then Skull-Stone slammed its bull-like skull into the back of Man-Thing’s head. 

Man-Thing roared again and then whipped his large head back and hit Skull-Stone with a fist, sending the black creature flying. Skull-Stone landed on the ground several metres to the right of Man-Thing and it seemed like it had taken a bad hit. Man-Thing wasted no time, and stomped there, ready to attack again.

The green beast even got cocky and lifted his arms in the air, wanting the audience to cheer him on. They did so and then Man-Thing continued forward with confidence. He leaned down to strike Skull-Stone, but before he could do so, the creature created several new tentacles of smoke which it wrapped around both Man-Thing’s arms. 

However, it seemed like Man-Thing had learned from his past mistake, because now he slammed a knee right into the creature’s skull before it had a chance to attack. It let go of him and withdrew its tentacles with a loud hiss. 

Arienne felt like she had seen enough of the fight. She turned away and looked at Peter, but he had certainly not had his fill yet. He looked like an excited child who was riding a brand new roller coaster. She rolled her eyes and stood up and walked away, figuring that she could go for a bathroom break and hope that the fight would be over when she returned. Peter didn’t even notice her leave since he was so invested in the battle.

Arienne took her time in the bathroom and then bought some snacks from a stand. Even though she felt like she had been away for some time, the fight was still not over when she sat back down in her seat. 

She lazily watched the fight and ate the treats she’d bought, and eventually, Man-Thing delivered the final blow to Skull-Stone. She didn’t know whether the black creature was dead, but it wasn’t getting up from the ground. Man-Thing had one foot on its skull and roared victoriously with his arms held up high. The crowd went wild and cheered for him. To Arienne’s annoyment, Peter was eagerly partaking in it.

Eventually, the Grandmaster walked out on the balcony again and announced, “The winner is Man-Thing!” The audience went crazy once more and the Grandmaster waited for them to quiet down before he continued, “Better luck next time, Skull-Stone.”

Then he pointed a rod that he was holding towards the defeated creature. Ice shot out from its tip and turned Skull-Stone light blue, freezing it in place, within seconds. After just a moment, the fighter shattered into a million tiny ice shards.

Arienne’s brown eyes widened and she turned to Peter, seeing that he looked just as horrified as her. The Freeze Stick wasn’t some sort of valuable treasure. It was a lethal weapon.


	16. Just Go

“No wonder Yondu wants that,” Peter said and huffed.

Arienne had forgotten her irritation due to the surprise, and automatically joked back, “He sure has a thing for quick deaths.”

Peter cursed and shook his head. “It won’t be the easiest item to steal, but we can do it.”

She hummed. “The question is just how…” She said and thought about it. She was almost certain of that the Grandmaster carried a weapon so powerful with him constantly, and the few times he wasn’t, it was most likely locked up in his chambers. So perhaps the idea she’d gotten at the party wasn’t half bad…  

“Well, he has it now,” Peter casually said, “So why don’t we just go chat with him and see what happens?”

“Sure, but let me do most of the talking and follow my lead,” Arienne firmly said.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Peter said and looked at her with a concerned expression.

“Just trust me,” Arienne tried to reassure him of.

“Okay then,” he replied, but looked like he didn’t fully trust her. 

The two of them left their seats and headed down the stairs to what Arienne had calculated was the floor that the Grandmaster was on. They found a guard and asked them for where the Grandmaster’s booth was, to which they were pointed in a certain direction.

Once they arrived outside it though, two bulky guards stopped them. The one to the left said, “No entrance unless the Grandmaster has personally invited you.”

“Tell him the two Terrans from the party would like to speak with him. I was wearing a green dress that night and he was wearing all black,” Arienne confidently said. She could feel that Peter was giving her looks, but she didn’t acknowledge him and just hoped that he’d follow her lead like she’d told him to. 

The guards looked unimpressed, but the one who had spoken to them sighed and went inside the booth. The one that remained stared her and Peter down as if trying to see through them, and even though Arienne felt uncomfortable under her gaze, she showed no signs of it. 

After a few minutes, the guard returned and cocked his head in a gesture for them to enter. Arienne gave him a pleased smile and then went inside the booth, closely followed by Peter.

The Grandmaster’s booth was to no surprise a lot larger than the one she and Peter had been sitting in, and there were loads of decorations and creatures walking around. There was music playing and servants were offering everyone food and drinks.  _ Is the Grandmaster’s life just one large party?  _ Arienne thought to herself as she scanned the room, looking for him.

She spotted him standing some distance away and chatting with an elderly male and a young, attractive woman. She motioned for Peter to follow her and then headed over to the Grandmaster, smoothly joining the conversation as if they’d been there the whole time.

“...so he just appeared right in front of me!” The Grandmaster said and the other two laughed, which Arienne joined in on even though she had no idea what was so hilarious. He was holding the Freeze Stick in one hand and casually gestured with it as if it was just some normal cane.

The Grandmaster noticed Arienne and Peter, and shooed away the two other guests with an impatient wave of his hand. “Hello there,” he greeted Arienne and smiled contently once the others had left.

“Hey,” she replied and returned the smile. “What a thrilling fight it was!” She exclaimed with as much enthusiasm as possible.

Beside her, Peter eagerly nodded in agreement, and Arienne was pretty sure of that he didn’t fake any of his passion.

“I’m glad you’re impressed,” the Grandmaster replied. “Man-Thing never disappoints me.”

“I understand why,” Arienne said and smiled. “I feel a little bad for Skull-Stone though.”

The Grandmaster laughed. “Don’t. On Sakaar, it’s kill or be killed.” He grinned and winked at her.

Arienne chuckled and sincerely hoped that he had indeed joked. “Do you always freeze the loser?” She asked.

“Nah,” he casually said and stroked the rod affectionately. “Only when I feel like it.”

Peter huffed, but Arienne managed to repress her disgust and smiled vaguely.

“So anyway,” Arienne started and hoped that Peter would be able to stomach what she was about to say. “I’ve been thinking about your proposal at the party…” 

To her relief, Peter kept quiet and showed nothing, but she had still not said the worst part.

“Hmm?” The Grandmaster said, his eyes sparkling with interest.

She laid a hand on his arm. “And I’d very much like to do it. But Han wants to be there as well.”

The Grandmaster looked intrigued and glanced at Peter for a reaction. But once more Arienne let out an internal breath as Peter looked completely onboard with the idea and even smiled at the Grandmaster.

“I can’t see why not,” the Grandmaster said and smirked. “The more the merrier.”

Arienne stroked his arm a couple of times and said, “Shall we?”

“Oh yes. Follow me,” the Grandmaster replied and then began walking out of the booth.

Arienne walked behind him and stayed a few paces away so that she could talk to Peter without him hearing their conversation.

“What are you doing?” He whispered to her, sounding very confused.

“Getting this mission over with,” she whispered back. “Play along and we’ll be out of here in no time.”

She didn’t want to risk the Grandmaster getting suspicious over their whispering, so she left Peter’s side and walked next to the Grandmaster instead.

They arrived at a door which the Grandmaster unlocked with a swipe of a card and then entered. Arienne and Peter also stepped inside the room and took a moment to take it all in. It was basically just one very large bed inside there, as well as a few shelves and racks with revealing underwear on them and various sex toys.

Arienne tried her best to not let her face show the disgust she felt at having sex with the Grandmaster or even just kissing him. She couldn’t even think about how Peter must be feeling right now. 

Apparently Arienne must’ve not hidden her reaction to the room very well though, because the Grandmaster looked at her with a raised brow. “What’s the matter, sweetheart? Never seen anything like this before?” He tucked away a loose hair strand behind her ear, sending unpleasant shivers down her spine.

“It’s amazing,” she managed to say and smiled shyly. 

The Grandmaster hummed and walked further into the room so that he stood right next to the bed. He put the Freeze Stick on a shelf and turned around to face them. “It sure is. Know what would be even more amazing?” He asked with a smirk, causing Arienne to dread what he would say next. “You two on the bed.”

She chuckled in a way which she hoped sounded flirty and then walked over to said place. Peter did so as well, but while Arienne sat down on the bed, he remained standing. She figured that she should grab the Grandmaster’s attention and give Peter a chance to steal the weapon. She only hoped that he would understand this since she couldn’t exactly say the plan out loud.

Arienne met the Grandmaster’s eyes and motioned for him to come join her, to which he eagerly approached her. She then grabbed his shirt once he was close enough, and pulled him towards her, going in for a kiss. Their lips met and Arienne felt repulsed, yet she kissed him. His tongue forced its way into her mouth and she almost gagged, but before it could go any further, Arienne heard a thud and a second later the Grandmaster fell to the floor, unconscious.

She looked up and saw Peter holding the Freeze Stick in his hands and looking both angry and… She couldn’t identify it, but it was that same expression that he’d had the other day. What she understood though, was that he had slammed the weapon into the back of the Grandmaster’s head, knocking him out.

“That’s one way to do it,” she said and chuckled, feeling relieved that she was no longer sharing saliva with the ruler of Sakaar.

“Couldn’t stand to see that perv kissing you,” he replied.

Arienne met his eyes and felt like there was more to his words than just a silly joke. But there was no time for such nonsense right now. She stood up, straightened her shirt, and firmly said, “Let’s get out of here before anyone’s alerted.”

Peter nodded and tucked the Freeze Stick into his coat, effectively hiding it from sight. The two of them left the room as quickly as they could, but then slowed down once they were in the corridors of the Arena. If they hurried through it towards the exit, they might look suspicious.

So even though her heart was racing and she could hear every pounding beat loudly, she kept her cool and casually strode out of there together with Peter. Nobody stopped them or questioned them and as they walked out on the street, she felt a little calmer. Now they only had to get to the Milano and then they could leave this hell hole and hopefully never come back.

However, they only made it a few steps out of the Arena before an authoritative voice called out, “You two. Stop immediately.”

She turned to Peter and they shared a look before he said, “Run.” She didn’t question him for a second and they began sprinting as fast as they could.

“Hey! Stop running or we  _ will _ shoot you!” The same voice shouted.

Arienne and Peter didn’t slow down at all, and instead picked up their pace. It was at this point inevitable that they were going to get shot at, so what they could do was to put as much distance between themselves and the guns as possible.

Shots were fired, but luckily none of them hit either of them. Arienne and Peter turned a corner and kept running. She remembered the way to the ship and took the lead while shouting, “Follow me!” to Peter.

She dared to glance back and saw that several guards were chasing after them and that they were all large creatures that could probably outrun two Terrans. She swallowed and tried her best not to think about their odds of making it out safe and sound, and instead focused on forcing her body to move even faster.

There were more shots, and this time, something sharp pierced Arienne’s upper arm. She cried out in pain, but didn’t allow herself to stop or even slow down. Peter glanced at her, looking concerned, but he also understood that there was no time to think about this. All they could do was to keep running and hope they’d make it.

They turned another corner and were so close to the Milano now, perhaps less than a hundred metres away from it. All of a sudden, Peter howled in pain and as Arienne whipped her head around to see what had happened, she saw him falling down on the ground.

She stopped, struck by horror, and rushed to his side, crouching down and trying to drag him up. “Peter, come on! We have to go,” she said in a panicky tone. 

He groaned and made no move to get up. As each moment passed, the guards got closer. “I can’t. Just go,” he said with a strained voice and gave her the Freeze Stick. “Tell everyone how my brave sacrifice saved you.”

Arienne wanted to protest, but she knew that there was no use. There was no way that she could lift him up and carry him all by herself and there was no time for it either. So even though it made her feel absolutely horrible, she realised that she had to leave now if at least one of them was going to make it out of Sakaar.

“I’ll come back,” she promised him. She grabbed the Freeze Stick and quickly stood up and ran away, forcing her legs to sprint faster than before.

She heard more shots, but didn’t dare to look back. She made it to the Milano safely, threw the Freeze Stick on the couch, and rushed to the pilot seat and started mashing the buttons and pulling the levers. She took off with the ship and flew out of the metropolis. There were several ships trailing her and she skillfully maneuvered the Milano so that she avoided most of their lasers and only took some damage.

Luckily, she saw a wormhole not too far ahead of her and she steered the ship right into it, hoping the other ships wouldn’t follow her there. However, once she got out on the other side of the hole, she realised that she’d had too high hopes. The majority of the ships were still behind her and she didn’t know how she was supposed to get rid of them. 

She frantically searched the controls and buttons before her for a solution, and realised that there were lasers on the Milano. Arienne had steered and shot at ships before, so she figured that she should be able to do this.

Arienne sharply turned the Milano and steered it so that she ended up behind one of the ships chasing her. She fired the lasers at it and after multiple spot on hits, it exploded. 

Now that the remaining four ships realised that she could attack back, they fired at her more aggressively and tried to avoid her shots by performing tricky maneuvers. However, Arienne was a skilled pilot and she managed to take out all of the remaining ships. But the Milano was in a pretty bad state once the last ship blew up and she was left all alone.

Arienne leaned back in the pilot seat and closed her eyes, letting out a long breath she hadn’t realised she had been holding.  _ How could the mission have gone so wrong so fast?  _ She thought to herself. Peter had been left behind and perhaps they had already killed him by now. But she couldn’t allow herself to think like that and had to believe that he was still alive. She couldn’t bare to lose yet another person in her life.

She grudgingly got out of the seat before she could fall asleep from exhaustion and stress. Arienne knew what she had to do now, but that didn’t exactly make it any easier.

She slowly made her way to the Freeze Stick and picked it up before heading to the table with the tablet on it. Her whole body felt shaky and she grabbed onto the table as soon as it was in reach and slumped down in a chair, feeling too weak to stand up for any longer. She clutched her wounded upper arm to stop the blood flow. 

With a heavy sigh, she began tapping on the tablet with trembling fingers. Every touch was reluctant and as she pressed the call button, she dreaded when the man’s face would fill the big screen.

The moment came too soon and she had to try her hardest not to look disgusted as Yondu lazily greeted her with, “Now this is a face I sure didn’t think I’d see again.”


	17. Shut Up

“The feeling’s mutual,” Arienne muttered, unable to stop herself.

“You have some nerve botherin’ me,” he said and squinted at her.

She huffed, unfazed by his empty threat. “Trust me, you’re the last person I want to speak to. But right now I need help and I’m out of options.”

Yondu laughed loudly for some time, as if she had cracked a hilarious joke. “You want my help?” He eventually asked.

“It’s Peter who needs your help,” she bitterly said.

The Ravager leader stopped grinning and leaned towards the screen as if that would make him hear her better. “What’s that now?”

“We got your fucking weapon,” she responded and held up the Freeze Stick so that he could see it clearly. “But Peter got captured when we escaped Sakaar.”

Yondu cursed and looked away from the screen for a moment as if collecting his thoughts. “That boy’s more trouble than he’s worth,” he said, but Arienne knew that he didn’t mean it. He had rescued Peter several times before and would surely do it again.

“Are you gonna help me get him out of there or not?” Arienne demanded.

“Yeah, yeah. But he better not think there won’t be any strings attached.”

“Of course not,” Arienne sarcastically responded. Yondu didn’t seem to pick up the irony though, which was probably for the best.

She couldn’t believe the next few sentences that she said, and practically spoke through clenched teeth as she asked Yondu for a favour. “Can you pick me up? Peter’s ship is in bad shape and besides, I have the weapon.”

Yondu snorted, but muttered, “Fine,” before ending the call. 

Arienne sighed loudly and leaned her forehead against the cool surface of the table. She couldn’t believe that she had to return to Sakaar and not only that, but to see Yondu again. It was all a bit too much, but it would be worth it if Peter was still alive. If it turned out that he wasn’t… Arienne didn’t even want to think about what she’d do then. 

She got out of the seat and looked around for some sort of first aid kid, but she wasn’t entirely sure that Peter even owned one to begin with. Luckily, there was one laying in the bathroom cabinet. She dug through it and found the healing bandages she was looking for. She had no idea what was in those things, but they always worked wonders whenever she had an open wound. They not only stopped the blood flow, but also patched the wound up within hours. She wrapped one around her arm and then went back to the table, thinking that she could do some research or something.

However, she felt exhausted as she slumped back down in the chair and closed her eyes for a moment, promising herself that she’d only rest for a minute. But she must’ve fallen asleep because the next thing she knew there was a loud banging noise coming from the door.

She shot out of her seat with adrenaline pumping through her veins. She grabbed the Freeze Stick with her healthy arm and walked over to the closest window, gazing out. All she could see was what looked like the inside of a hangar. She furrowed her brows in confusion because as far as she knew, she’d been out in space when she fell asleep. _What if the Sakaarans found me?_ She thought and panicked a little.

“Open the damn door!” Someone shouted from the outside and banged some more.

She didn’t recognise their voice, but it appeared as if there was just one person out there. So she carefully walked over to the door and opened it, Freeze Stick held out in front of her in case she’d need to use it.

The man on the other side appeared to be a Ravager judging by his red leather jacket and rugged appearance. As soons as he noticed the dangerous rod, he backed away a few steps and put his hands up. “Woah, woah, don’t just point that in my face!”

Arienne realised that Yondu must’ve picked up the Milano while she was sleeping. She really must’ve been knocked out if she hadn’t woken up until now. “Who are you?” She demanded and kept the Stick pointed at him.

“Name’s Kraglin. I’m Yondu’s first mate,” he said and stared at the rod, looking highly concerned.

Arienne hummed and lowered the weapon. “Did he ask you to fetch me like some dog or what?” She said, annoyed.

“Uhm,” Kraglin responded and scratched the back of his head. “Yes?” He then said unsurely. Perhaps he didn’t know what a dog was.

She snorted. “Where is he?”

“I can take you to him,” he responded and smiled a little. He seemed intimidated by her and Arienne liked that. 

She nodded and gestured for him to lead the way. He began walking and she followed closely behind. Every Ravager they passed stared at her with either hatred or lust or a bit of both. She gave them all death glares in return. 

“So Quill’s in trouble again?” He asked her.

“Yeah,” she merely said.

“No surprise there,” he replied and chuckled. “Didn’t know he had a girlfriend who looked after him though.”

“I’m not his girlfriend,” Arienne quickly said. 

Kraglin hummed and raised his brows. He glanced at her with newfound interest, but Arienne just stared at him, completely unamused.

“Don’t even think about it,” she told him.

He looked away with a silly expression and muttered, “I wasn’t.”

They arrived at a door and Kraglin stopped. There was a panel on the side of it which he leaned into and said, “Boss, she’s here.”

A click was heard and the door slid open, revealing what Arienne assumed was Yondu’s chamber and office. The Ravager leader himself stood inside, picking dirt from his nails with a knife. He didn’t even look up as Arienne and Kraglin entered.

“Your manicure can wait,” Arienne said, making Kraglin suppress a chuckle. “We need to rescue Peter before they kill him. If we’re not already too late.”

Yondu slowly put away the knife and looked at her. “Don’t you be tellin’ me what I need to do.”

She sighed loudly. “Okay then. What do you think we should do?”

He stared at her for a moment before saying, “I have to save that boy before he gets himself killed.”

Arienne had to close her eyes for a second or else she’d scream at him that that was literally what she had said. 

“Do you have a plan?” She instead asked him.

Yondu huffed. “Go there. Get Peter. And kill as many Sakaarans as possible.” He straightened up and headed out of the room, shouldering Arienne when he walked past her.

She frowned but walked after him. Kraglin followed them both. 

“We could also do it peacefully,” she proposed, having had enough of death lately. “I have the Freeze Stick so perhaps we could make a trade deal.”

Yondu stopped and turned around. He then snatched the rod out of her hands before she could react. “First of all, girl, this ain’t yours.” He twirled it around. “And a bargain ain’t happenin’. I’m plannin’ on keepin’ both this and Peter.”

Arienne glared at him but didn’t attempt to get the Stick back. Even though it stung to admit, it was his and she had just fetched it for him. She also realised that she didn’t have much to say in this situation. She was aboard his Ravager ship and was completely unarmed. To be honest, it was sort of strange and unclear why Yondu hadn’t killed her yet.

She decided to keep quiet and settled for just staring at Yondu until he turned away from her and resumed walking. They went inside the room where the huge ship was being steered from.

“Are we going to Sakaar in this massive thing?” Arienne skeptically asked.

Yondu stared at her as if she’d asked him the stupidest question in the entire universe. “No,” he merely said.

She let out some air through her nose. Before she could retort, Kraglin helpfully added, “We have smaller ships in the hangar.”

“Find the closest wormhole to Sakaar and stop near it,” Yondu ordered the Ravagers who were controlling the ship.

“Sure thing, boss,” one of them replied and began pressing some buttons.

“Kraglin,” Yondu said, continuing to hand out orders. “Arm up and get inside a ship and wait for my signal.”

“You got it,” he responded and instantly turned around.

Arienne looked at Yondu expectantly and he met her eyes and sighed loudly. “Take her with you,” he then dismissively told Kraglin.

Kraglin nodded and Arienne huffed before she also spun around and walked beside the Ravager again. They headed to a room filled with all sorts of guns and weapons. Arienne spun around and considered what she’d like to use.

Since she generally preferred smaller guns and pistols, she settled for a one-handed laser gun. She also took a long knife in case she’d need to fight someone close on. Kraglin picked a spray gun and a knife similar to hers. 

Once they were done they went back to the hangar and entered a small attack ship. It was meant for two people as one was supposed to steer it and the other one was supposed to shoot the built in lasers.

They sat in a sort of awkward silence for a while and Arienne got more and more impatient and worried as time went on. Eventually though, Yondu’s voice was heard through the speakers on the ship, telling them that it was time to head through the wormhole.

She was the pilot and Kraglin was the shooter, so as soon as Yondu had finished speaking, Arienne turned on the ship and flew out of the hangar and headed straight for the wormhole. Several ships similar to theirs followed them into it and they all appeared in Sakaar’s atmosphere within seconds.

Arienne had thought that they might be met by a fleet of Sakaaran ships who were just waiting for them to return, but there was nothing there besides the endless wasteland of trash. She thought that this was rather suspicious and unnerving and told Kraglin to be on his guard in case this was a trap. 

She set course for the metropolis and arrived there in just a few minutes together with the rest of the Ravager ships. 

“Where is he, boss?” Kraglin asked Yondu via the ship’s communication. 

“How the hell am I supposed to know that?” Yondu grunted in response.

Arienne rolled her eyes and Kraglin quickly apologised for his question.

However, they didn’t have to search for Peter for that long because there were huge advertisements on almost every building which clearly showed his location. Arienne drew in a sharp breath as she looked at them. Each commercial announced a “Bonus Battle” between the victorious champion Man-Thing and the criminal Terran Han Solo. It was supposed to take place right now.

_At least he might not be dead yet_ , Arienne tried to assure herself of. But at the same time, Peter, a mortal human, was fighting a huge monster who was probably not too pleased to be back in the Arena so soon. The beast could crush Peter with one slam of his large fists if he so pleased. She could imagine the Grandmaster coming up with this creative way of sentencing Peter to death, pretending to give him a chance to fight for his life, but in reality he was just doomed. 

“He’s in the Arena,” Arienne said, not being able to hide the panic in her voice.

“No shit,” Yondu replied. 

She ignored his remark and steered the ship towards it. Some ships were in front of her and others either followed her or flew beside her. The Arena was a building with an open roof, so the whole fleet of Ravager ships simply dove into it from above. As she came closer to the ground, she saw that Peter was still somehow alive. He was currently running for his life from Man-Thing who was chasing him around the Arena.

As the ships entered the Arena, the beast and Peter paused what they were doing and looked up at the sky. Everyone in the audience also shifted their focus from the contestants to the ships.

“Looks like we got company,” the Grandmaster playfully said through the device that enhanced his voice. 

_Does this idiot not even feel slightly threatened by an attack?_ Arienne angrily thought. She then said to Kraglin, “Fire at his damn booth.”

“I have to wait for the boss’ orders,” he said.

Arienne huffed in annoyance, but didn’t have time to protest before Yondu said, “Open fire.”

Kraglin instantly aimed for the booth and fired the ship’s lasers at it. The other Ravager ships also opened fire, shooting at everything ranging from the Arena to Man-Thing. Panic filled the building and the public started screaming and got up from their seats and scrambled out of there as fast as they could. 

The booth’s glass was extremely strong and even though Kraglin was firing at it constantly, only small cracks appeared on it. The Grandmaster and everyone inside it had left it though, so Arienne saw no purpose in continuing to shoot at it.

Instead, she decided to rescue Peter before he was taken away from the Arena by a Sakaaran or got killed in all the gunfire. She steered the ship and parked it on the ground close to him. 

“Wait here,” she said to Kraglin and got out of the ship. She ran towards Peter and shouted his name as she approached him.

He turned to face her and looked utterly relieved and happy to see her. She briefly embraced him as she was so glad to see that he appeared to not be too badly hurt. He had bruises on his face and bare arms and was bleeding from his nose, but it didn’t seem like he had any serious injuries. Yet Arienne remembered that he had gotten shot in the back when they had tried to escape Sakaar and so she wondered how he had been able to run around the Arena, or even stand up. There was no time to ask, but she supposed that the Sakaarans must’ve healed him enough for him to be able to put on a show in the Arena. She was disgusted by that thought and a want to kill the Grandmaster surged through her body since he was probably the one who had come up with the idea.

She pulled away from Peter and grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the ship as they both ran there. “Are you okay?” She shouted at him on their way there, trying to make herself heard over the sounds of Sakaarans screaming and lasers being shot from the ships.

“Never been better,” he screamed back. 

They arrived at the ship and Arienne cursed out loud as she realised that there were only two seats. She helped Peter into the seat she’d been sitting in and then climbed in after him, sitting down in his lap. 

“Ouch,” he complained but Arienne ignored him, being too focused on starting the ship and flying out of the Arena.

“We have him,” she said to Yondu through the intercom.

“Then get out of here,” he responded. “And Peter, you’re wearin’ my patience out, boy.”

Peter groaned loudly and said, “Love you too.”

Kraglin snorted and said, “You alright Quill?”

“Yeah,” he responded and closed his eyes.

Arienne steered the ship back to the wormhole, going as fast as the ship possibly could. To her relief, no Sakaaran ships were following her because they were too busy being attacked by the rest of the Ravager ships.

They safely made it through to the other side. She parked the ship in the hangar of the large Ravager ship and got out, pulling Peter with her. He leaned against the ship once they were outside, but at least he could still stand up. He mostly looked exhausted if anything and Arienne couldn’t blame him. 

“It’s so good to see you,” he told her and smiled.

She genuinely returned the smile and felt as if a huge boulder had been lifted from her. She had been so worried about losing yet another person who she cared about and now that it seemed like Peter wasn’t going anywhere, the relief and happiness were kicking in. 

“You too,” she responded. 

Peter had been looking into her brown eyes, but now his green ones traveled down to her lips and then back up again. Arienne didn’t even hesitate for a second before she leaned into him and kissed him fiercely. He returned the kiss immediately and pulled her closer to him.

“You sure you ain’t his girlfriend?” Kraglin asked, making Arienne pull away a little and chuckle. Peter raised his brows and smiled, looking highly amused.

“Shut up,” she replied and then kissed Peter again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a real kiss! Yay :) The next chapter will be really juicy (if you know what I mean lol), so stay tuned for that. Thanks for reading!


	18. Call Me Star-Lord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer, this entire chapter is basically a smut, haha. Enjoy!

When Yondu and the rest of the Ravagers that had been on Sakaar returned to the main ship, the blue-skinned Ravager leader had shouted at Peter for a long time. He had finished his speech by telling Peter that he could now expect to be doing Yondu’s work without pay or benefits for the rest of his life. Arienne wondered if he really meant that, but Peter didn’t look that bothered, so perhaps he’d heard that speech before and it wasn’t anything to worry about.

Then Yondu had told them both to get out of his sight and so they did. However, it wasn’t like they could go very far. The Milano was in bad shape and needed to be repaired before they could leave the Ravager ship. Nevertheless, they entered Peter’s ship and went to the kitchen to get some water and something to eat. He put on music as he munched on some bread.

“Let me clean you up,” Arienne said as she scanned Peter’s injuries with furrowed brows.

He mumbled something in response as his mouth was filled with food, but she assumed that he agreed. So she fetched the first aid kit and gestured for him to sit down on the couch. She stood in front of him, leaned down, and disinfected his wounds and cleaned up the blood. He mostly had bruises, but on the few cuts he had, she put some band aids.

As she touched his cheek to apply a band aid there, their eyes met and she smiled at him. Peter pulled her to him and she sat down on his lap, straddling him. He tucked away a strand of her long, black hair and brushed the side of her cheek with his thumb. His gentle touch sent pleasant shivers down her spine.

They both leaned in for a kiss and Arienne couldn’t stop smiling as their lips met. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this way, or if she’d even had this kind of jittery feeling ever. Peter was a total goofball and a bit of an idiot, yet she really liked him and desired him.

The song  _ Come and Get Your Love  _ started playing in the background and Arienne chuckled a little. Peter smirked and pulled away so that he could say, “Perfect timing.”

“Shut up,” she replied and then closed the distance between them again. The kiss deepened and Peter’s tongue touched her lower lip, asking for entrance. Arienne opened up her mouth a little and let him in. She put her hands in his hair while he put one of his on her back and the other on her waist. His tongue sent tingling sensations throughout her body and his scruff tickled her face. She exhaled loudly in pleasure. Making out had never felt this good before.

Peter noticed her delight and continued to move his tongue around in her mouth, but when Arienne let out a soft moan, he pulled away a little and smirked. Arienne opened up her eyes in confusion and quickly said, “Don’t stop.”

He looked at her with mischief in his green eyes. “No? Did you like that?” He playfully said.

Arienne couldn’t stand him teasing her and she growled a little as she grabbed him and crashed her lips against his. This time, she slipped her tongue inside his mouth and made him feel good. He groaned and she felt his member harden underneath her. 

She thought that it was only right that she got him back, so now she bit his lower lip gently and then pulled away with a playful smile on her lips. 

“Two can play that game,” she teased. 

He growled and then surprised her by grabbing hold of her and standing up, lifting her up with him. She let out a little yelp and wrapped her legs around him instinctively.

They continued to hungrily kiss each other as Peter walked over to his bed and laid Arienne down on it. She impatiently tucked at his shirt, urging him to take it off. He smirked and obliged, but removed hers as well.

He got on the bed and hovered over her, leaning on his elbows. She curiously trailed her hand over his muscles, admiring his biceps and abs.

“I knew you wanted to see me shirtless,” he said and winked.

Arienne rolled her eyes and then grabbed his hair and pulled him towards her, silencing him with another kiss. They continued making out, now eagerly touching each other’s upper bodies. He removed her simplistic bralette and began caressing her breasts. He pinched her nipples and then began a trail of butterfly kisses down her neck, making his way to her chest. 

She arched her back and offered him her breasts, enjoying the tingling sensations the kisses gave her and wanted him to go on. He made his way to her right nipple and started sucking it while he kneaded her other breast. 

“Peter,” she breathed.

He stopped what he was doing and said, “Call me Star-Lord.”

Ariene let out a small chuckle and leaned forward to nibble his earlobe before she whispered, “Earn it first.”

Peter seemed to see this as a challenge and smirked as he pulled off her pants with one smooth movement. His mouth returned to her breasts, now sucking her other nipple. Meanwhile, he playfully graced his fingers inside the lining of her panties.

Arienne let out an impatient moan and hoped that he’d understand how bad she wanted him. It seemed to be quite effective because now his fingers trailed further down until they reached her womanhood. He began rubbing her clit with his thumb and slid one, long finger inside of her. 

She gasped and felt incredible as he pushed it in further and slid it back and forth. “More,” she said in a husky tone. One finger was not enough.

“So eager,” he teased, but was happy to oblige. He let in another finger, making Arienne arch her back again. She had already been wet before he started fingering her, but not now she felt like she was soaking his fingers.

“Shit,” she breathed as she felt herself getting close to the edge. Could he really make her come with just his fingers? It had been a while since she’d last been touched like this after all… 

Peter sensed her approaching climax and removed his fingers. Arienne opened up her eyes as the pleasant sensations abruptly stopped. He was smirking at her and reached his fingers to his mouth, sucked on them and tasting her juices. He was being painfully slow and she groaned loudly.

“Don’t tease,” she complained, impatient for him to make her feel so good again.

He leaned into her ear and huskily whispered, “What’s the magic word?”

“Fuck you,” she replied and sunk her teeth into his neck, making a mark.

Peter gasped and moaned. “Playing dirty, huh?” He said in a low tone.

Arienne smirked and reached inside his pants and grabbed his penis, rubbing it up and down. He closed his eyes and enjoyed her touch for a moment, but then seemed to snap out of it and removed her hand. “This is for you.”

She didn’t protest and allowed him to return his focus to her. He started a new trail of kisses and paused at her neck in order to make a hickey. “A mark for a mark,” he said before continuing to place kisses between her breasts and across her stomach.

He slid down her panties with his teeth, and just took in the sight of Arienne for a second. He’d never seen a Terran woman naked before and marveled at her slender figure and dark skin. He’d been with countless alien women over the years, but none of them could possibly match up to Arienne’s beauty.

“You’re so fucking hot,” he complimented her and then began to feast on her. He worked his tongue in excellent movements, making Arienne moan and quiver with pleasure.

“Fuck, Peter,” she breathed, being extremely close to climaxing.

“Peter?” He teasingly asked and stopped.

Arienne couldn’t take it anymore and she gave up, letting him have this one. If he didn’t let her come this time, she thought that she’d scream out loud in frustration. Therefore, she whispered, “Star-Lord.”

“Good girl,” he replied with a satisfied smirk. Then he leaned back in and pleasured her with his mouth again until she bucked her hips against him and came, moaning loudly.

He unzipped his pants while she rode out her high, and took them off along with his underwear. His fully erect penis sprung free and at the sight of his large member, Arienne greedily said, “I want you,” while fully spreading her legs to grant him full entry.

She didn’t have to say it twice and he slid inside of her, burying himself to the hilt. He was still for a moment to allow her to adjust to his size. But it wasn’t an issue as Arienne was so wet and besides, she wasn’t a virgin after all. She impatiently urged him to continue, and so he began thrusting, going slow but deep.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” he said.

Arienne moaned and dug her nails into his back, leaving crescents on his skin. “Faster,” she urged him and her order made him let go off all the boundaries he’d been upholding. He picked up his pace and pulled her closer to him. 

The two of them panted and moaned and Arienne even called him Star-Lord a few more times. 

“Fuck,” he said. “I’m close.”

“Me too,” she breathed, feeling her second climax near. As she said it, he hit her g-spot and she cried out in pleasure. This fueled Peter and he thrust even deeper in order to hit it again.

He found the sweet spot over and over again, and with each thrust Arienne felt more and more euphoric until she saw stars. Her walls tightened and she came with a satisfied sound leaving her lips. Peter moaned and continued thrusting for a little longer before his cock twitched and he filled her with his seed. 

As they both got back down from their highs, Peter pulled out of her and laid beside her on the small bed. They both laid on their sides, facing each other. 

“That was amazing,” she told him and sighed happily before giving him a quick kiss.

“I know,” he said confidently. Arienne rolled her eyes at him and turned around. He wrapped an arm around her sweaty body and pulled her close, spooning her. She was breathing raggedly and her heart was beating insanely fast. She also heard Peter’s rapid beat as she tried to catch her breath. 

It felt nice and comfortable to be all wrapped up in his arms and Arienne felt the need to sleep. Peter seemed to share the sentiment as he mumbled, “Let’s do it again when we wake up,” against her neck. 

Arienne chuckled and replied, “Sounds like a plan.”

He affectionately kissed her neck and then the two of them fell asleep like that. Arienne had never felt so at peace and happy before. Perhaps her life wouldn’t be so miserable from now on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers! Hope you liked this chapter. I've decided to leave the story here even though I could continue writing it. For now I feel pretty finished with it, but who knows, I might pick it up again in the future :) It has been very fun to write and publish it though, and I appreciate everyone's support <3


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